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Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 19, 2013 in Videogames 
Took them long enough! Square Enix has finally announced a Western release date for their HD remastering of Final Fantasy X & X-2 that has taken entirely too long to produce. At least their work looks great, with reorchestrated music and redone models in certain places, besides the game being presented in widescreen and HD. You can check out the improvements yourself on March 18, or March 21 in Europe. As a reminder, this collection includes most full-featured versions of the games: Final Fantasy X International, Final Fantasy X-2 International + Last Mission, and a 14-minute video bridging the two games called Final Fantasy X Eternal Calm. If you preorder the game, you’ll get it in nice limited edition packaging that holds the game in a book of concept art and commentary, similar to Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX. I’ve had mine preordered for what feels like forever, but watch this new trailer if you’re not yet convinced. Read more…
Tags: Final Fantasy, PS3, square enix
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 19, 2013 in Cinema 
While most adults might gravitate more towards The Muppets instead of Sesame Street, the kid’s show still has a lot to offer adults looking for cute skits and parodies, especially those with Cookie Monster. While I could care less about Elmo, Grover, and the others, Cookie Monster has never really got old, even surviving the program’s need to point out that cookies are a “sometimes food.” (Check out this skit with game developer Tim Schafer as proof!) His latest skit has him playing the role of Cookieness Evereat in a parody of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. While the brutal nature of the games has been completely toned down to “The Hungry Games,” there’s a lot to like here. I think it’s particularly damning that Peeta can be replaced with a pita named Pita and nothing is lost from his character. Read more…
Tags: Muppets, parody, The Hunger Games
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 14, 2013 in Videogames 
Bravely Default finally has a confirmed North American release: February 7, 2014. It’s not as soon as the release date in Europe, but considering how likely it was that this game would stay Japan-only as recently as early 2013, I’ll take it. The Square Enix JRPG is dropping its subtitle “Flying Fairy” and also not using the upcoming Japanese rerelease’s subtitle “For the Sequel”; however, the Western release still includes the enhancements and extras found in “For the Sequel.” Bravely Default is also getting a collector’s edition, which features 34 augmented reality cards, an art book, and a soundtrack CD; looks like the figurine will only be part of the European collector’s edition. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Bravely Default, RPG, square enix
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 14, 2013 in Animation, Cinema 
Do you remember when Michael Jordan teamed up with Bugs Bunny to play basketball against aliens? I prefer to think of Space Jam as a historical drama, because why not. Someone else out there apparently thinks so too, because they made this great video, 30 for 30: The Space Jam Game, mimicking the popular ESPN documentary series 30 for 30. They even got some major guests to give commentary! Check it out below, and if you want more, try this page of Space Jam mash-ups (“slams”), or even the original website, somehow still online! Read more…
Tags: Looney Tunes, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 13, 2013 in Videogames 
For many gamers, the rest of the month won’t be about picking up the PS4 or Xbox One to play shiny next-gen games. No, they’ll be sticking with a top-down game with cartoony 3D models. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, a “direct” sequel to the seminal The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES), is out on November 22 in North America. Because blowing a 3DS game’s graphics on a big screen doesn’t look that great, Nintendo made a mostly-live-action TV ad to promote the game. It looks cool and reminds me of a time in the 90s when ads were mostly live-action skits that were sometimes tangentially related to the game itself. Now if only the game itself looked more like this or its concept art; I’ve heard buzz that the 3D effects are great, but that art style looks primitive and almost completely charmless. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Legend of Zelda, Nintendo
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 13, 2013 in Cinema, Star Wars 
Who would have thought that response to an open casting call for Star Wars Episode VII would have garnered a ridiculous response? That’s what happened in UK and Ireland, where thousands showed up in places like Bristol for a shot at two roles. Now you can submit your reel online with Cast It Talent for a chance to be in Disney’s continuation of the Star Wars franchise. You have until December 3 to get your entry in, so make it good and keep in mind that you’re potentially competing against the entire world! You can check out the descriptions of the two roles, Rachel and Thomas, below, though there’s a strong possibility that these are placeholder names. Read more…
Tags: Disney, Star Wars
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 12, 2013 in Anime, Cinema 
North American fans of Neon Genesis Evangelion have been waiting since November 17, 2012 for the latest Rebuild of Evangelion movie. The remake/reboot/sequel/whatever movie series is already three films into the planned four-film story, but the third film, Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo, has yet to receive a North American release. But this January 2014, ELEVEN ARTS and FUNimation will be screening the film. It will mostly be shown in an English dubbed format, but some showings will feature the original Japanese dub with English subtitles. Read more…
Tags: Evangelion, FUNImation
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 12, 2013 in Videogames 
So this is what it’s come to, huh? Unboxing videos are so popular that companies are not just putting out official unboxing videos, but they’re infusing them with high production values. After years of rumors and a longer previous console generation, the PS4 is launching this Friday, November 15, in North America. Sony wants to show you what you’ll be getting when you open your own box, and they’re showing you in style, reusing the set from the unboxing of Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories earlier this year. (I guess they have to cut costs somewhere.) It’s everything you’d expect to be in the box, including a mono headset, something the PS3 didn’t include by default. (That doomed the PS3 to a life without much audio chat compared to the Xbox 360, which generally included a headset.) Read more…
Tags: PS4, Sony
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 7, 2013 in Videogames 
After several years of not playing many board games, I got back into them in college. Since then, I’ve been trying out some new ones, but certain board games are classics, like Risk. There’s a new variant edition coming out soon: Risk: Mass Effect Galaxy at War Edition. This Mass Effect-flavored game has you taking control of one of three factions with their own win conditions to fight the Reapers, the main bad guys of the series. The game is available for pre-order for $50 and might be worth picking up if you want a new version of Risk or if you’re a fan of the game. Read more…
Tags: BioWare, Board Games, Mass Effect 3
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 7, 2013 in Videogames 
“Flying Fairy” might as well be say “Final Fantasy,” because Bravely Default: Flying Fairy is the most traditional Final Fantasy-esque game Square Enix has made in a while. After a lengthy period of no announcements, Square Enix confirmed that the game would be localized for North America and Europe. But as was the case with many other JRPGs as of late, the game is coming out in Europe first before America, with their December 6 launch right around the corner. The game is looking good, and the English dub sounds pretty good too. Take a listen and see if you agree! Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Bravely Default, square enix
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 6, 2013 in Cinema 
Way to get our hopes up, Bruce. Two weeks ago, Bruce Campbell confirmed that Army of Darkness 2 would be made by Sam Raimi. Now, he’s backtracking on those “random comments,” saying that the film isn’t happening until the production company says something, like a movie release date or a start date for production. He also predicts bad news for fans of Fede Alvarez’s remake of Evil Dead, saying that Alvarez has moved on and not to expect a sequel. It’s a bit grim for fans who wanted more, but this is all to be expected when dealing with rumors and information given through unofficial channels. Read more…
Tags: bruce campbell, Evil Dead, zombies
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 6, 2013 in Cinema 
Have you been watching the production videos of The Hobbit film trilogy? Nothing will ever match the sheer quantity and quality of the bonus content for The Lord of the Rings, but these have been pretty interesting for fans of Middle-earth. The latest production video covers the ten-week summer pick-up shoot, when more footage was shot for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (coming soon on December 13) and The Hobbit: There and Back Again (due out December 2014). Take a look and see the outtakes of a frustrated Ian McKellen trying to say his lines. Gandalf swore! Read more…
Tags: Peter Jackson, The Hobbit
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 5, 2013 in Cinema, Star Wars 
Did you see the recently released Star Wars blooper reel? I’m not just talking general Star Wars, I’m talking the original film. Well, Slackatory took those bloopers and mixed them into the original trailer to create a “Derp Edition.” With shots of Han Solo munching on his mic and Stormtroopers sliding around, I’d say this gives the Special Edition a run for its money. Actually, if Lucas was still in charge of the franchise, I wouldn’t be surprised if he made a new cut with all the outtakes and called it his even truer vision. It’s no less strange than the fact that he had his team purposely animate Jar Jar stepping in poop. Read more…
Tags: Star Wars
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 5, 2013 in Videogames 
At this point, it’s hard to tell whether Konami has been poorly communicating information about Metal Gear Solid V on purpose (a la Metal Gear Solid 2) or if it’s just due to their usual bad management. We had heard that there would be two parts to the upcoming sequel: Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, a prologue (similar to MGS2‘s Tanker scenario), and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, the main, longer game (similar to MGS2‘s Big Shell scenario). After the rather inelegant reveal that The Phantom Pain, a game advertised as an independent game made by a fake studio, was unsurprisingly MGSV, conflicting information suggested that both parts of the game would be sold together. Konami has just announced that this isn’t true: Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes will be released by itself in Spring 2014. Read more…
Tags: Metal Gear Solid, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 31, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
With short previews for upcoming films attached to current films becoming more and more popular, Marvel has decided that stingers at the end of films just aren’t enough. If you decide to drop the extra cash to see Thor: The Dark World in 3D (out November 8), you’ll be able to enjoy five minutes of footage from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which won’t be out until April 4, 2014. It’s just a shame the footage won’t be attached to 2D showings, since I make a point of avoiding “3D” movies that were shot in 2D and converted in post (as opposed to the 3D cameras used in movies like Avatar). But if that doesn’t bother you and you want more Cap after that recent trailer, you’ve got the option. Read more…
Tags: 3D, captain america, Disney, Marvel, Thor: The Dark World
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 31, 2013 in Videogames 
If you’re a retro games enthusiast, chances are you’ve bought certain games more than once. Sonic the Hedgehog has been rereleased at least ten times in the last decade, between Virtual Console releases, cellphones, compilation discs, and more. Now you can add yet another rerelease to it, but at least this release has something new to offer. Sega recently converted several Genesis games into 3D for Japanese release on the 3DS. Not every game released on the system needs to be in 3D, especially retro games, but Nintendo and other companies have done so occasionally to offer a new reason to repurchase old classics. It was strange that the games were Japan-only, but now Sega has announced that all eight of them will be coming West before the end of the year. You’ve got Sonic, Ecco the Dolphin, Streets of Rage, Shinobi, and more to pick from. Check out the list below! Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Sega, Sonic the Hedgehog
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 30, 2013 in Videogames 
Have you heard of this “walking dead” thing? If you’ve been living under a rock, The Walking Dead is a critically acclaimed comic series by Robert Kirkman that has been adapted into a very successful TV series on AMC. Last year, Telltale Games released a episodic adventure game called The Walking Dead: Season 1 that went on to win untold Game of the Year awards based on its strong design, writing, storytelling, and characters, despite competing with games with far bigger budgets. If you haven’t played it yet (or its short expansion 400 Days), go do that now before even thinking about watching what many fans have been waiting for: the reveal trailer for Season 2. Read more…
Tags: iOS, PS3, Telltale Games, The Walking Dead, Xbox 360, zombies
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 30, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
We’ve finally got a trailer for X-Men: Days of Future Past, the sequel to X-Men: First Class that promises to unite the cast of the original trilogy with their younger selves (and probably create a new unified timeline without those pesky contradictions). Bryan Singer, the director of the first two films as well as a producer/story contributor of X2 and First Class, is again directing and producing the film, which should give some hope to those burned by X-Men: The Last Stand. The plot involves Wolverine being sent back to his younger self (still played by Hugh Jackman, on account of the whole “not aging” thing) to help ensure the survival of both time periods. It’s looking like a fun flick that hopefully won’t go up its own ass with time travel nitty-gritty. Read more…
Tags: 20th Century Fox, Marvel, X-Men
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 29, 2013 in Videogames 
Here’s a weird game that you probably won’t get to play. Akiba’s Trip 2 is set in Akihabara, one of the geekiest places in Tokyo. However, demons have invaded, so what do you do? That’s right, you punch and kick the clothes off of demons to expose them to sunlight. And if some of those demons are girls/are possessing girls (it’s hard to tell) and you see them in their underwear, so much the better, it seems. You can also visit over 130 real shops from the area. Akiba’s Trip 2 will be released in Japan on November 7, with no plans for an international release, which should come as no shock to anyone. Of course, it could still come to America, as stranger things have been released. Just don’t get your hopes up! Read more…
Tags: Playstation Vita, PS3
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 29, 2013 in Animation, Comic Books 
It looks like Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox really was a way for DC to reboot their animated universe, which has lately been a way for them to just animate movies of whatever storylines they want without much care for overall continuity or consistency. But just like Flashpoint led into The New 52 in the comics, it’s leading into a new origin story for the Justice League in Justice League: War, their next animated movie due out sometime in 2014. Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Justice League, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 24, 2013 in Television 
The wait is almost over for Sherlock fans. There hasn’t been a new episode (really, more like a new 90-minute movie) since May 2012 (or January 2012 if you watched the British broadcast like me). But now we know when season three is airing, at least in the US. The first of the three new episodes will air on January 19 at 10PM on PBS’s Masterpiece anthology program. Of course, the episodes will likely be out there before that, as the BBC does have first airing rights. While the BBC hasn’t announced their premiere dates, they will be sometime before PBS airs the episodes, possibly airing even by the end of 2013. Read more…
Tags: BBC, PBS, Sherlock Holmes
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 24, 2013 in Videogames 
For years now, people have been saying that Mario is old and predictable. While some of the New Super Mario Bros. sub-series games are well-made, it’s safe to say that they’re all unsurprising with what they do. But if you haven’t seen anything about it yet, watch the latest Japanese trailer for Super Mario 3D World, the Wii U sort-of sequel to the 3DS’s Super Mario 3D Land. It’s made by the same team that made Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel, two of the best Mario games in the last decade. The game marries the 3D Mario games with elements from the 2D games, and it looks fantastic. Plus, it has a ton of power-ups and items, offering many different gameplay mechanics. The whole thing just looks magical and fun in the way that only Nintendo can be. Hopefully it sells some Wii U units when it releases on November 22! Read more…
Tags: Mario Brothers, Nintendo, Wii U
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 23, 2013 in Videogames 
The latest trailer for Killzone: Shadow Fall on PS4 is out, and it’s all about the story. I admittedly haven’t ever played a Killzone game, but it’s usually not hard to understand these plots. After the events of Killzone 3 killed off a bunch of the Helghast (the guys that look like Space Nazis), there are a bunch of Helghast refugees sharing space with non-Helghast in a city divided by a giant wall. So basically, it’s the Cold War in space. What’s more important to me is that the game looks gorgeous. Watch this trailer and be amazed at how good things look. And this is just a PS4 launch title — just wait until this generation really gets going a few years from now! Read more…
Tags: Killzone, PS4
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 23, 2013 in Videogames 
Respawn Entertainment’s highly-anticipated next-gen shooter Titanfall has finally been dated. What seemed like a possible launch title for Xbox One slipped back and is now confirmed to be released on March 11, 2014 in North America, with a March 13, 2014 release date in Europe. The game is not only coming out on Xbox One, but also PC and Xbox 360, though I think the 360 version won’t be purchased as much. But are you somehow going to have some spare money after the new console launches this fall? Then Respawn is offering you an expensive Titanfall collector’s edition. Read more…
Tags: Titanfall, Xbox 360, Xbox One
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