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Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 19, 2014 in Animation, Videogames 
Team Fortress 2 has been out forever, at least in internet time. But Valve is still supporting it with new updates, even after the game became free-to-play a few years back. Their latest, the Love & War update, promises several additions, such as new taunts. But more importantly, Valve released another short starring the various playable classes, made in Source Filmmaker. “Expiration Date” has the red team confronting their imminent death only three days later, as well as Scout pursuing his crush with the help of Spy. It’s a whopping 15 minutes long, making it the longest TF2 short Valve has ever done. I just enjoy watching the characters bounce off each other, so keep making them Valve! Read more…
Tags: Team Fortress, Valve
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 19, 2014 in Cinema 
I’d say expectations are pretty low for the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, since we’ve already seen how Michael Bay handled the Transformers franchise. Still, it would be nice if it were good, and so TMNT Fansite posted a good look at Shredder’s armor in the new movie. On the positive side, it looks very imposing and still retains the Japanese armor look used in previous designs. But I can’t help but feel that the armor is very over-designed, like the concept artist started drawing and never stopped adding things. There’s too much going on, when a simpler design would have sufficed, but this looks too over-the-top. I guess this isn’t surprising after seeing Bay’s Transformers movies; each Transformer is an intricately-animated combination of thousands of moving parts that looks like a jumbled mess of technology anytime there’s an action scene. Read more…
Tags: Michael Bay, Teenage Ninja Turtles
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 18, 2014 in Videogames 
Another World (or Out of This World as it was originally known in the US) is one of those unique, highly creative games that retro gamers look back on fondly. The adventure-platformer has you exploring a strange world that you accidentally teleported to, with many cinematic effects and just a generally high level of craftsmanship, thanks to French designer Eric Chahi. Another World has received various ports and upgrades over the years, but the latest 20th Anniversary Edition is the best looking yet, with a bevy of options depending on how you want it to look. This version is coming to every recent platform this year, but it’s debuting on Sony’s platforms — PS3, PS4, and PS Vita — next week on June 25. I’ll certainly be downloading a copy, and any fan of well-made, atmospheric adventure games should consider doing so as well. Read more…
Tags: Playstation Vita, PS3, PS4
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 18, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
What more is there to say about Guardians of the Galaxy at this point? Until the film releases on August 1, we’re stuck rewatching trailers and gleaning any additional bit of information from interviews. Thankfully, those trailers are awesome, including this latest UK trailer. I think the reason why I’m running out of things to say is that “This movie looks really fun” pretty much sums it up. This later trailer features lots of Rocket Raccoon, and thankfully it looks like the actors are fairly comfortable holding a conversation with CG characters inserted after the fact. I’m trying not to hype myself up too much, because there are so many blockbusters these days that build up hype to critical levels and then fail to deliver. But despite being the riskiest film Marvel has released so far, I’d say they’ve got a real chance to knock it out of the park and open up that crazy cosmic side of their comic universe. Until then, let’s hit play on this trailer again! Read more…
Tags: Disney, Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 17, 2014 in Videogames 
The PS4 and Xbox One are lacking in must-have games right now due to publishers believing they’d sell worse than they did last fall. Now, they’re scrambling to catch up, but still need to release something in the meantime. The solution? Taking visually-impressive games from last-gen and remastering them with slightly better tech and a higher resolution for current-gen. 2012’s Hong Kong crime game, Sleeping Dogs, may be next up for a rerelease. Read more…
Tags: PS4, Sleeping Dogs, Xbox One
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 17, 2014 in Cinema, Star Wars 
If you haven’t seen the 2010 documentary The People vs. George Lucas and are a Star Wars fan, you’re missing out on a great examination of the lack of relationship between George Lucas and his fans. I thought it covered its bases pretty well, but apparently the filmmakers think there’s more to say, so they’ve announced The People vs. George Lucas Episode II and scheduled its release for December 2015, just in time for Star Wars Episode VII. In this documentary, they hope to examine further developments in the relationship between George Lucas and his fans, including the sale of Star Wars and Lucasfilm to Disney, as well as the future of the franchise without George Lucas. Read more…
Tags: Disney, documentary, George Lucas, Star Wars
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 12, 2014 in Videogames 
Nintendo promised one more big 3DS announcement at E3, and it’s Code Name: STEAM. It’s an original IP with elements from comic books, steampunk, Abraham Lincoln, aliens, and more. Hitoshi Yagami (Fire Emblem, Xenoblade Chronicles) is working with Intelligent Systems (Fire Emblem, Advance Wars) to make a turn-based strategy game with action elements from shooters for movement and attacking. As expected from such a mix of influences, the game’s concept is pretty wild too. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Nintendo, steampunk
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 12, 2014 in Videogames 
An English release for Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy Agito was already announced at this year’s E3, but that’s not the only Final Fantasy announcement Square Enix has for RPG players. The latest Japanese issue of Shonen Jump revealed Final Fantasy Explorers, a new multiplayer RPG for 3DS. You can pick different jobs you’re likely familiar with like black mage or monk. You can team up with three other players to fight various summons from previous FF games. Basically, it seems that Square Enix is doing their own take on Monster Hunter. Since the 3DS doesn’t have as many MH-style games as the Vita, the only big game this needs to compete with is Monster Hunter itself! Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Final Fantasy, square enix
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 11, 2014 in Videogames 
Bandai Namco is co-developing Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U, so many were wondering whether or not any Namco characters would appear in the game. With Mario, Sonic, and Mega Man all in the game, it only made sense for Pac-Man to enter the fray, and luckily he was just confirmed. While he mostly retains his modern 3D look, it seems that for some attacks he’ll transform back into a 2D form to munch things up. He also can attack with ghosts, pellets, Galaga, Dig Dug, and other old school summons. The video also confirms the return of Mr. Game & Watch, as it is humorously pointed out that both characters originated in 1980, while Mario and Donkey Kong debuted in 1981’s Donkey Kong. Read more…
Tags: Namco Bandai, Nintendo, Pac-Man, Super Smash Bros.
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 11, 2014 in Videogames 
Because Atlus doesn’t have a European branch, releasing their games is always iffy because it relies on other companies publishing the games. As a result, some games don’t come out or are hard to get. (Persona 4 Arena was just taken off the European PSN store.) Atlus is fixing this somewhat with Shin Megami Tensei IV, which is finally getting released in Europe. Sadly, there is no physical release, as the game is only available as a digital download from the eShop. The game is also only in English, reusing the localization for America. Still, this is good news for hardcore RPG fans. The price hasn’t been set yet, but we do know the game is coming out in Q3 later this year. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Atlus, shin megami tensei
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 10, 2014 in Videogames 
When Final Fantasy XIII was announced, it was done so as part of the “Fabula Nova Crystalis” project that also included Final Fantasy Versus XIII (just for PS3) and Final Fantasy Agito XIII (for mobile). The former game was delayed, being reannounced as Final Fantasy XV in 2013, while the latter game was reworked for PSP as Final Fantasy Type-0. FFXIII got two direct sequels, FFXV isn’t finished yet, and Type-0 was never released outside of Japan due to the declining demand for the PSP. But suddenly, we’re going to be getting it — just not for PSP! Read more…
Tags: Final Fantasy, PS4, PSP, square enix, Xbox One
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 10, 2014 in Videogames 
While Microsoft and Sony had solid press conferences yesterday, Nintendo’s E3 Digital Event on the first day of E3 was much more impressive to me because it captured the self-awareness mixed with new hype of E3s past. Robot Chicken produced the opening (and various interstitial skits) in which Nintendo of America CEO Reggie Fils-Amie definitely ate a fire flower and lit a press member on fire. Then, Reggie and Nintendo of Japan CEO Satoru Iwata began fighting each other. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, E3 2014, Nintendo, Nintendo Direct, Wii U
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 10, 2014 in Videogames 
We close out E3 2014’s “Day 0” with Sony’s press conference. Last year, this was the conference that helped propel the PS4 ahead of the Xbox One in terms of consumer excitement. With Cross-Buy, the ability to buy a game on one platform and get any other version for free (like buying on PS4 and getting the PS3 and Vita versions for free), Sony gives gamers a big incentive to play on all their systems. And this press conference was filled with a ton of game footage — nothing too in-depth, which allowed them to fit in even more game coverage and reveals. Read more…
Tags: Playstation Vita, PS3, PS4, Sony
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 9, 2014 in Videogames 
Following EA’s disappointing press conference, Ubisoft attempted to pick up the excitement by showing something cool right from the start. Instead of beating around the bush, they went right into showing their biggest recently-announced game: Far Cry 4. Read more…
Tags: E3 2014, PS4, Ubisoft, Xbox One
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 9, 2014 in Videogames 
The second press conference of E3’s “Day 0” was Electronic Arts, and while there was new stuff shown off, it is unlikely to get you into a frothing mess of anticipation. They began with their studio DICE, who showed some early in-engine footage of Star Wars: Battlefront, coming Spring 2015, and the environments looked gorgeous. The Star Wars license looks like it’s in good hands. Read more…
Tags: E3 2014, Electronic Arts, PS4, Xbox One
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 9, 2014 in Videogames 
It’s time for highlights from E3, the biggest game expo of the year! Microsoft got a lot of flack for not talking about games enough as they revealed the Xbox One last year. Thankfully, Microsoft kicked off E3 with a conference devoted entirely to games. (How refreshing!) Read more…
Tags: E3 2014, Microsoft, Xbox One
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 5, 2014 in Videogames 
Since their reinvention with Persona 3, the Persona games have been known for their striking, colorful openings, showing off the characters and setting the tone of the game. I know I’m not the only person to have rewatched them too many times to count. Well, it seems that Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, the upcoming 3DS dungeon crawler, isn’t too much of a spin-off to get its own fancy opening number. It shows the characters from Persona 3 and 4 looking cool and interacting with each other, since this is a crossover game. I’ve already watched this a few times, because the music is as catchy as usual. Alas: this game won’t be out in North America until Fall 2014. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Atlus, Persona 3, Persona 4
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 5, 2014 in Cinema, Star Wars 
Someone has managed to sort all of Star Wars alphabetically. No, it’s not a wiki or database of some kind, and we’re talking about Star Wars the first movie, not Star Wars the franchise. This guy has alphabetically sorted every word spoken in the film and cut a video of the words in order. The original film is 121 minutes, while this edit runs for a mere 43 minutes. The most common word is naturally “the,” but interestingly enough, the word “lightsaber” is only uttered once in the entire film. Strange, huh? Read more…
Tags: Episode VII, Star Wars
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 4, 2014 in Comic Books, Videogames 
After the somewhat disappointing Batman: Arkham Origins, most fans are pretty excited about Batman: Arkham Knight, the third and supposedly final entry in Rocksteady’s series. While the game was originally supposed to be released by the end of 2014, that seems to no longer be the case. Now Rocksteady says the game has been pushed back to 2015, to allow more time to deliver “the awesome level of quality that Batman fans and gamers expect.” I’d imagine some of this is prompted not only by working with newer hardware — the game will release only on current-gen platforms: PC, PS4, and Xbox One — but also to make sure it’s much more impressive than Arkham Origins, which Rocksteady didn’t develop. I’ve always got a lot of games on my plate, so I don’t mind waiting. But still, it would be nice if most of the big games for these new platforms weren’t all coming in 2015 or later. Hopefully E3 next week has some good news for that issue. Read more…
Tags: Batman, Batman: Arkham Knight, DC Comics, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 4, 2014 in Videogames 
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy was one of the early reasons to own a 3DS, offering a fun musical romp through the history of past Final Fantasy games. The sequel, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call, is coming out in North America on September 16, 2014, and it’s especially enticing for those who skipped the first entry. With 221 songs, you’ve got access to every previous song, every previously-released DLC song, and new songs, plus the option to buy more DLC songs in the future. That’s a lot of songs! But if you’re really excited for the game, you might consider preordering the collector’s edition. Only 5,000 copies are available on Square Enix’s online store. If you pony up the $70, you get a big box (similar to Kingdom Hearts 3D‘s collector’s edition), a collector’s pouch for your 3DS, a 20-song soundtrack CD, an additional CD with 5 remixed songs, and 5 premium cards based on CollectaCards seen in the game (with passwords to unlock the card in-game). If you don’t have the scratch for all that, you can still preorder and get the 5-song remix CD. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Final Fantasy, square enix
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 3, 2014 in Videogames 
After many years of mediocre fighters, Midway finally made a comeback with 2011’s Mortal Kombat, sometimes called Mortal Kombat 9, and kept that success going into the DC fighter Injustice: Gods Among Us. So it’s not surprising, but still a nice surprise, to see a trailer for Mortal Kombat X, the newly-announced next game in the series. It doesn’t show any actual gameplay, consisting of a prerendered fight scene of Scorpion fighting Sub-Zero. But with some traditional 2D camera angles, you get a sense for what they want the final product to look like. Maybe we’ll see something at E3 next week? Read more…
Tags: Mortal Kombat
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 3, 2014 in Science 
It looks like teleportation isn’t entirely outside the realm of possibility, according to a new scientific breakthrough. Scientists at Delft University have managed to teleport information encoded on sub-atomic particles to another place with 100% accuracy for the first time. According to Professor Ronald Hanson, who lead the team, we may one day be able to teleport a human as well. Hanson points out that we’re just a bunch of atoms arranged in a particular way, so if they can teleport a very small amount, there should be a way to teleport a large amount. Read more…
Tags: Teleportation
Posted by Bob Muir on May 29, 2014 in Comic Books, Television 
Drew Goddard leaving Marvel’s Daredevil show (coming to Netflix) in order to concentrate on making The Sinister Six for Sony was a bummer when we learned it last weekend. But thankfully, Goddard’s replacement seems well-picked, and now we know who will be playing the titular role. Charlie Cox will play blind lawyer Matt Murdock who becomes the vigilante Daredevil. You may recognize Cox from his roles on Boardwalk Empire and Stardust, and now you’ll be watching 13 episodes of him on Netflix, in the first of several various superhero series that are planned. As someone who is eagerly devouring anything connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe lately, I’m pretty excited to see what Marvel can do with Netflix. Read more…
Tags: Daredevil, Marvel, Netflix
Posted by Bob Muir on May 29, 2014 in Cinema 
The confrontation with HAL 9000 in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is a tense, somewhat frightening scene. So why not have H. Jon Benjamin, voice of Sterling Archer on FX’s Archer, voice HAL instead? Late Night Basement did just that, and the results are hilarious. Watch as David freaks out while talking to the most laid-back computer system ever. This version of HAL also taunts David, which is amusing. Now I wish that I could hear Benjamin’s voice as the computer on Star Trek. Read more…
Tags: 2001: A Space Odyssey
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