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Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 3, 2013 in Videogames 
Speaking of Square Enix, they’re rolling out the preorder content for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. We already know that if you preorder the game in the US you get Cloud’s outfit and sword. But in Japan, you can also get various feudal Japanese armors as well. This latest video shows off some battles, and a lot of the samurai outfits do look admittedly cool. I’m less into the same victory pose over and over again, but I suppose you might not notice if you’re sticking to one outfit most of the time. Read more…
Tags: Final Fantasy, square enix
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 3, 2013 in Videogames 
Technically, getting a Western release of Bravely Default: Flying Fairy, Square Enix’s critically-acclaimed so-far-Japan-only JRPG, in our native tongues counts as an improved version to me. But while it’s great that Squenix finally confirmed the 3DS game for Europe in 2013 and America in 2014, gamers were slightly concerned when the company announced an updated version with expansion content, misleadingly titled Bravely Default: For the Sequel. It features better battles, better UI, better graphics, and more content in general that may hint at a sequel. Interestingly, it also has multiple language options (including English), which made everyone concerned about whether or not this better version was the one the rest of the world would also be getting. Read more…
Tags: Bravely Default, RPG, square enix
Posted by Ben Huber on Sep 2, 2013 in Videogames 
I have to really respect Keiji Inafune, he really seems to love what he does. And he really wants to make a new Mega Man, but since he’s no longer at Capcom that’s not possible. But what about a spiritual successor to Mega Man? That’s where his new Kickstarter for Mighty No. 9 comes in. It’s a side-scrolling action game where you play as Beck, the 9th robot in a series, who can pick up enemy weapons and abilities to enhance his arsenal. A lot of the staff working with Inafune are Mega Man veterans, with music done by Manami Matsumae and localization by 8-4! They’re asking for $900,000, which at time of this writing is already up to almost $600,000. I have no doubt Inafune will reach his budget and more. If you’re interested in backing it, click here, or check out the amazing pitch video below. Read more…
Tags: Keiji Inafune, Kickstarter, Mighty No. 9
Posted by Ben Huber on Sep 2, 2013 in Anime 
At the Venice Film Festival, Studio Ghibli’s president Hoshino Koji officially announced some sad news: Hayao Miyazaki will be retiring. It was implied that Miyazaki would stick around at Ghibli to offer mentorship and possibly work on small projects, but his time on large films is over. Granted, this is not the first time Miyazaki has attempted to retire — but it’s also the first time a press conference has been held to announce it. Hoshino Koji said there will be another press conference next week to provide more details. Will The Wind Rises be Miyazaki’s final film? It sure seems that way. Miyazaki has had a long and prosperous run at Ghibli, I don’t fault him for wanting to retire now, though I will certainly miss his filmmaking. Now the real challenge: Ghibli must find suitable directors to take up the mantle. Give Hiromasa Yonebayashi another feature film! Read more…
Tags: Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli
Posted by Ben Huber on Sep 1, 2013 in Anime 
This past week, it seems every anime studio wanted to get their trailers out in front of the world! First up we’ve got out first real look at Kill la Kill, Trigger’s October anime series featuring dueling ladies in a fantasy school (made by Gurren Lagann director Hiroyuki Imaishi!). A clear look at Space Dandy also showed up! This is a January 2014 series from Cowboy Bebop creator Shinichiro Watanabe, featuring… well… a dandy guy in space! Both look really impressive. Lastly, a short trailer for Ghost in the Shell Arise: border 2, Ghost Whispers was uploaded, which is the next chapter in the direct-to-video reimagining of the series. Check out all the trailers below! Read more…
Tags: Ghost in the Shell, Kill la Kill, Space Dandy
Posted by Ben Huber on Sep 1, 2013 in Cinema 
Pacific Rim, Guillermo del Toro’s crazy giant robot film, was doubted by many analysts as being able to be a profitable endeavor. A new IP, combined with “robot fatigue” from Transformers, and fear that it wouldn’t connect with audiences were cited as some of the reasons it wouldn’t be a box office success. And while it’s performance in the US wasn’t spectacular by any means, it’s overseas pull was much larger and has put it over the $400 million mark, making it del Toro’s highest-grossing film ever. Legendary hasn’t made any statements about profitability yet, but I imagine it is much closer now than before. The home video release should do wonders, and I predict it’ll thrive there. Now, Legendary, let’s get Pacific Rim 2 going, ok? Read more…
Tags: guillermo del toro, Pacific Rim
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 31, 2013 in Television 
Season 4 of Game of Thrones is shaping up to be very exciting, but it looks like some big changes are happening as well. Daario Naharis, originally played by Ed Skrein, will now have a different actor taking on the role: Michiel Huisman. No word on why Huisman is replacing Skrein, but as it becomes a more important part perhaps they wanted someone else to tackle the growing role. Also, replacing Ian Whyte as The Mountain will be Icelandic strongman Hafþór “Thor” Björnsson, and replacing Callum Wharry as Prince Tommen will be Dean-Charles Chapman. Quite a lot of toss-ups, but it’ll be exciting to see everything fall into place! Read more…
Tags: Game of Thrones
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 31, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
The long wait is over, Marvel fans! You now have your voice for Rocket Raccoon: Bradley Cooper. This was the last major part to cast for Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel’s upcoming sci-fi superhero film. Given that he is such a beloved character, director James Gunn said they wanted to get their “dream guy” for the part. It seems Bradley Cooper is that guy! I wonder how fans will react? Guardians of the Galaxy will arrive about one year from now, on August 1st, 2014. Read more…
Tags: Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 30, 2013 in Videogames 
Grand Theft Auto V is almost here, and it’s one of the biggest releases of the year, despite the upcoming next-gen consoles. I’m normally not a big GTA fan, but these trailers are definitely piquing my interest. So, with the game arriving on September 17th, Rockstar has released one more final trailer for whet your taste buds. I have no doubt this game will sell amazingly well and be super popular, but I think I’ll wait for a PC or GOTY edition release later. Too many games are coming out all at once! Read more…
Tags: Grand Theft Auto
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 30, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Were you expecting this casting? Joss Whedon can certainly make some creative picks for actors! James Spader has been cast as Ultron, in Avengers: Age of Ultron. His name, obviously, is not very synonymous with comic books, but he’s got a long and excellent history in film and TV. Is it a bit of a wild choice? Yes. But given that Ultron will probably be CGI, Spader’s voice acting is probably the main draw here. We still don’t know much about the story or how they’ll be introducing him (we’re assuming they’ll change his origin story from the comics), but I’m very excited to see Spader’s take on the rouge AI. Read more…
Tags: Avengers: Age of Ultron
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 29, 2013 in Science 
We know that there might have been life on Mars, but could Mars have been responsible for the beginning of life on Earth, if new evidence is to be believed. Professor Steven Benner, a geochemist at the Westheimer Institute for Science and Technology, has posited that Martian meteorites thrown by volcanoes or impacts may have landed on Earth and acted as “seeds.” He argues that the oxidized mineral form of molybdenum, a building block necessary for life to grow, wasn’t present on Earth due to low oxygen levels three billion years ago. However, it was found on Mars, which had oxygen at one point. Meteorites carrying the element could have crashed on Earth, bringing the ingredient that may have helped tar form, which led to the first organisms. It’s an interesting thought, because if so, we could technically be part-Martian! Read more…
Tags: Mars
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 29, 2013 in Videogames 
I’ll say one thing for Nintendo: you can’t ever safely predict what they’re going to do. Apparently they wanted to offer a cheaper version of the 3DS, targeting kids age 6 and under who shouldn’t be using the system’s 3D visuals but who may want to play the next Pokemon game. So they’ve created the 2DS, a system that plays 3DS (and DS) games with no option to turn on 3D. It’s coming out on October 12, the same day as Pokemon X & Y, for $129.99 in either red or blue. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Legend of Zelda, Nintendo, Wii U
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 28, 2013 in Animation 
If you love Terry Gilliam this vintage video is a must watch: Read more…
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 28, 2013 in Videogames 
If you haven’t quite reversed your position on the Xbox One yet, here’s a few more reasons to consider buying it at launch. Three exclusive games will have bonus Day One content, provided you buy the Day One Editions or buy a digital copy within the first two weeks. Besides having special packaging (that matches if you buy all three games), Dead Rising 3, Forza Motorsport 5, and Ryse: Son of Rome will have the following additional content. Read more…
Tags: Xbox One
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 28, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Iron Man 3 ended with lots of explosions and fire, without getting into too many spoilers. But according to artist Federico D’Alessandro’s animatics, a certain character could have had a small part in the climactic battle. Click through to find out and watch. Read more…
Tags: Iron Man, Iron Man 3, Marvel
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 27, 2013 in Videogames 
It’s been over 25 years since Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished came out in Japan, and since then, the somewhat-unknown series has grown, putting out many action-RPG sequels and spin-offs, as well as tons of ports. To celebrate, publisher XSEED is putting out a premium edition of Ys: Memories of Celceta, a loose remake of Ys IV: Mask of the Sun and Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys (neither of which came to America) that make the entry fit better into the series canon. The PlayStation Vita game will normally retail for $39.99, but this premium version is $59.99 because of all the extra stuff that comes with it. Read more…
Tags: Playstation Vita, XSEED
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 27, 2013 in Videogames 
When you think of HD game remasters, you generally focus on the visuals. Besides being rerendered in a higher resolution, HD versions sometimes have higher-res textures, framerate fixes, or small bonus touches. You don’t generally consider the audio, which is often the same music the game had before. But since Square Enix is making many more improvements for Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD (like creating new models), they’ve also redone more than 60 tracks from Final Fantasy X‘s 91-track soundtrack. That’s pretty cool! Read more…
Tags: Final Fantasy, PS3, square enix
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 26, 2013 in Animation, Cinema 
I love seeing the tricks and effort that go into “movie magic.” Concept art, early animatics, CG tricks, anything that shows how they create the amazing stuff you see on screen. That’s why I was super interested to see on The Awesomer a link to an early animatic for The Avengers, focusing on Iron Man’s introduction. It’s way more exciting and interesting than the one we got, but I can understand why it was ditched: why do we need to be introduced to a villain right away that we’ll never see again? Still, if you’re like me and love seeing this behind-the-scenes work, check it out below. Read more…
Tags: Iron Man, The Avengers
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 26, 2013 in Videogames 
Star Citizen has been an incredible success for a crowdfunding game. Chris Roberts’ game has been getting record support and now, the game is starting to take shape. At an event in Cologne, Roberts and the team reveal the Hanger Module, a download available this Thursday, August 29th, that lets you walk around your hanger and view your ships that you own. Granted, you have to support the game by buying a ship and have backer access to the game, but still: it’s a good first step. I’ve included an embed below of Roberts demoing the hanger and the crowd cheering. At everything. No matter what. Read more…
Tags: Star Citizen
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 25, 2013 in Videogames 
Titanfall has consistently been one of the best-showing games at the past few press conferences. It’s fast-paced, incredibly exciting to watch, and also very vertical. I love shooters that require you to look up and engage on multiple levels, dealing with enemies above and below. Most of all, I love mechs and giant robots. Titanfall looks to combine that with on-foot combat that’s super versatile (double-jumps and wall-running!), while not making either side too overpowered. This new trailer from Gamescom runs through a multiplayer level with plenty going on, and makes me very interested for the game’s release. Check it out below. Read more…
Tags: Titanfall
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 25, 2013 in Videogames
We don’t know when (probably October), and we don’t know how much (probably $350 or so), but Nintendo will be releasing a special edition Wii U system branded with Zelda-inspired designs on the controller. Along with this news we’ve also gotten word of a few upgrades to Wind Waker HD. The Triforce hunt will be shortened, a harder “Hero Mode” will be available right from the start (enemies do more damage and no hearts drop, you must use potions or heart containers to heal), a new sail will make sailing faster, and you can now take selfies with Link’s camera. Yes, the first game ever to feature selfies, and it’s Wind Waker HD. Thanks, Nintendo. Read more…
Tags: Legend of Zelda, Wii U
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 24, 2013 in Cinema 
We’re just rolling in the cinema-related news here, aren’t we? Paul W. S. Anderson, one of the most… interesting… filmmakers out there, with his wonderful collection of Resident Evil movies featuring Milla Jovovich in every single one, is back. This time he’s making a movie about Pompeii, which feels more than a little Titanic-inspired — but hey! It has Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) in it! And Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland)! And Babydoll (Emily Browning)! Depending on how much interaction Jack Bauer and Snow have, it could be entertaining just watching them mumble and swear at each other. Other than that, call me cynical, but this looks like another poor film from Paul. Maybe it’ll be so bad that it’s good? I hope so. Read more…
Tags: Paul W. S. Anderson
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 24, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
I’m sure most of you have heard the news by now: Ben Affleck will play Batman in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel. Henry Cavill will duke it out with Affleck and then presumably become fast friends who fight evil together. Now, a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth has been happening over this choice, and this is the internet, so we need to make an extra big deal out of it. People are crying foul, and most especially, bring up Affleck’s previous comic book endeavor, Daredevil. Yes, Daredevil sucked. It was also made by a completely different team of people at a completely different point in time. Affleck is an acclaimed director now with two Oscars. I’m not saying I have the utmost faith in Zack Snyder (I don’t), but this silly collection of overbearing complaints and petitions to change actors is getting ridiculous. This is just a movie. Read more…
Tags: Batman, Man of Steel
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 23, 2013 in Cinema, Hobbies and Collections 
Yes, the Brotherhood Workshop is at it again! They have LEGO-fied another movie trailer, and it’s more Lord of the Rings. This time it’s the recent trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, which they have spent two months making. There’s a great mix of LEGO and visual effects here, but mostly it’s just fun to see little LEGO figures waddle across large landscapes. That, and that LEGO Smaug is pretty freaking awesome. If only the official LEGO model would be so detailed and impressive! Watch the video below and then grab you minifigures and reenact it yourself. Read more…
Tags: Lego, The Hobbit
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