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Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 5, 2015 in Videogames 
Time to add another one to the list of studios that Electronic Arts bought and closed. Maxis Emeryville is no more. While Maxis (founded in 1987) has grown as a brand and now has other studios, this was the main studio that was known for SimCity, The Sims, and Spore. Perhaps this is the fallout from 2013’s SimCity, the controversial reboot that shrunk the size of cities and required players to be always online for minimal benefit. But I always got the feeling that, despite the developers claiming the poor decisions were their idea, it was EA who mandated the poor decisions. It’s a real shame, as the brand will live on, but the studio that created that brand will be no more. Hopefully all the affected employees land on their feet quickly. Read more…
Tags: Electronic Arts
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 5, 2015 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Admittedly, I’m not watching any more Avengers: Age of Ultron trailers, because I don’t want to see the same scenes over and over again and ruin their context within the film. I already know I’m going to see the movie. But that doesn’t mean readers shouldn’t watch this trailer, because from what I’m told, you finally get a good shot of the Vision’s face; the character has had minimal marketing so far, probably so people don’t ask too many questions about potential plot twists he’s involved in. Go ahead and watch, I won’t judge!
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Tags: Avengers: Age of Ultron, Marvel
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 4, 2015 in Videogames 
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes was a good (if expensive) appetizer, but most gamers are waiting on the main course, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. IGN just leaked that the game will finally be out on September 1, 2015 in every region. Of course, Konami is so bull-headed with its PR plans that they couldn’t just roll with it, taking the video down instead. But the internet never forgets, and so you can expect to get your hands on MGSV in early fall. Read more…
Tags: Konami, Metal Gear Solid
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 4, 2015 in Videogames 
Full disclosure: I backed Harmonix’s Amplitude reboot on Kickstarter, for more than the retail fight of the game. But considering the game only barely got funded, I like to think I helped get the game exist at all. Obviously this won’t be for everyone (and since Sony owns the rights, it’s only on PS3 and PS4), but if you’re a fan of music games and never played the original (or its predecessor FreQuency), you’ve been missing out. It might not end up as easily accessible as Rock Band Blitz and its no-fail states, but Amplitude is a proven design that’s really fun, especially on the higher levels. Check out this first trailer to see what the modern version looks like. There are only a few licensed tracks, with the majority of the music to be made by in-house musicians who have done great work in the past.
Read more…
Tags: Harmonix, PS3, PS4
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 3, 2015 in Tech, Videogames 
Nice move, Epic. The game studio that develops one of the most used middleware engines, Unreal Engine, has decided to make their latest release, Unreal Engine 4, free. That’s right, the engine is free and all updates will be free. Developers making commercially-released software will pay a 5% royalty on gross revenue that is higher than $3,000 per project and per quarter, though developers can still negotiate the fee with Epic. This opens up the middleware to any developer who wants it, no matter how small the project. In fact, if your product doesn’t make much money (or is free), you basically don’t pay royalties. This is going to be great for the indie market and will hopefully lead to some cool ideas. Read more…
Tags: Unreal
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 3, 2015 in Cinema, Comic Books 
In what isn’t a huge surprise, it seems that Drew Goddard may be writing and directing the next Spider-Man. While Goddard’s rep walked back initial reports that it was a sure thing, he apparently has a meeting with Sony to discuss the possibility. Goddard first joined the Spider-Man franchise when he left Marvel’s Daredevil (coming soon to Netflix) in favor of Sony’s Sinister Six spin-off of The Amazing Spider-Man. With that series officially dead and Sinister Six put back into development — which seems like the precursor to a mercy killing. Honestly, this just makes sense, so don’t be surprised when this is announced soon. Read more…
Tags: Marvel, Sony, Spider-man
Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 26, 2015 in Animation, Television 
One of the best TV cartoons that Disney ever made was Ducktales, the classic, Emmy-winning spin-off of Donald Duck’s comics. From 1987 to 1990 (plus a movie), it chronicled the adventures of Scrooge McDuck (Donald’s uncle); Huey, Dewey, and Louie (Donald’s nephews); Launchpad McQuack (their pilot); and tons of other characters. Disney has finally come to their senses and is reviving this winning series with a new series for Disney XD. They won’t be ready until 2017, but that sounds like good news to me, as taking that much time could hopefully translate into more lavish, traditional animation. Read more…
Tags: Disney, DuckTales
Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 26, 2015 in Videogames 
Where do you go from Street Fighter IV? It would be simple for the upcoming Street Fighter V to change direction to differentiate it from IV (and II, since IV was so similar to it). The current footage looks like a graphical improvement to IV (that’s strangely slower), so what sets it apart? Capcom’s answer is to bring back an old character from Street Fighter Alpha. Charlie Nash is Guile’s best friend who was supposedly killed by one of M. Bison’s helicopters. Obviously, he didn’t completely die, but it looks like he has some modifications, so maybe he’s out for revenge. Hopefully we’ll see some other obscure characters pop up as fun additions. Read more…
Tags: Capcom, PS4, Street Fighter
Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 25, 2015 in Cinema 
While I’m eternally disappointed that Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) doesn’t feature Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s an excellent film that won the Oscar for Best Picture just days ago. If you’re a really big fan, you might want a Birdman action figure of your own to add to your collection. But since they don’t exist, you’ll have to make believe with this fake ad featuring the action figure you wish you had. The figure isn’t sold in stores, since it was only given away in a contest, so why should those kids get that figure all to themselves? Read more…
Tags: Birdman
Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 25, 2015 in Fandom, Television 
It seems like all our favorite childhood franchises are getting modern, gritty reboots these days. I think it speaks to our nostalgia for our past while avoiding any potential embarrassment for enjoying “childish” things. There’s a new Power Rangers movie which is likely to do its own thing (or do America’s first season of the show) instead of looking to the current series. But what if that movie got the Batman Begins treatment? You get this awesome fan film directed by Joseph Kahn and produced by Adi Shankar (The Grey, Dredd). POWER/RANGERS stars James Van Der Beek and Katie Sackhoff, and while this might be tedious as a feature-length film, it’s excellent as a short. Read more…
Tags: power rangers
Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 24, 2015 in Television 
If you’re like me, you missed that short-lived leak of House of Cards season 3 and can’t wait to see it when it releases February 27. But in the meantime, Sesame Street is here to fill the void. While the skit is mashed up with the Three Little Pigs, it’s all the little details that make “Frank Underwolf” a great parody: his class ring, knocking on the desk, and of course his asides to the audience. Just don’t be too surprised when the House of Bricks turns out to be something else. Read more…
Tags: Sesame Street
Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 24, 2015 in Television 
Though Marvel’s Inhumans movie won’t be out until the far-distant future of 2019 (scheduled after Avengers: Infinity War Part 2), Marvel stealthily introduced them in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s mid-season 2 finale. But though Skye and Raina “became” something more, the episode ended before we could really get any answers. Judging by this promo for the second half of the season, it won’t stay that way for long. Skye specifically says the word “Inhuman,” so it’s possible this is where the word may originate from in the MCU. I think it’s safe to say that for now, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. might as well be called Inhumans of S.H.I.E.L.D. for the rest of this season. Read more…
Tags: Agents of SHIELD, Marvel
Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 19, 2015 in Cinema 
Remember that Alien pitch director Neil Blompkamp (District 9) came up with on his own, something Fox wasn’t even really aware of until he showed them? He said he wasn’t planning on making it, that it was just something he was working on for fun. But uh…it seems he changed his mind! In a post on Instagram, Blompkamp shared another xenomorph drawing, writing “Um… So I think it’s officially my next film. #alien” as well. Obviously that’s not much to go on, but it sounds like the Alien franchise will get a new installment of some sort from an imaginative director that would fit it well. Read more…
Tags: 20th Century Fox, Alien, neill blomkamp
Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 19, 2015 in Anime 
Gundam fans who love the Universal Century timeline (i.e. most of the classic series) have been waiting for Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, the four-episode OVA that retells the original series, focusing on Char Aznable’s life. The 35th anniversary production has a scene at the pivotal Battle of Loum, where Char earned the nickname “The Red Comet,” and the clip below shows part of that battle. I would have preferred less CGI, but this fight does look good, retaining the older anime art style with modern animation. The first episode is out in March in Japan, but a Blu-ray is due out in April, as well as a streaming option. Read more…
Tags: Bandai, Mobile Suit Gundam
Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 18, 2015 in Television 
Last June, PlayStation announced their plans to enter the non-TV TV market occupied by companies like Netflix (House of Cards) and Amazon (Transparent). Their first offering is Powers, an adaptation of Brian Michael Bendis’s superhero procedural comic. The ten episode series is produced by Sony Pictures, which previously did Breaking Bad. Of course, since this is a new market for Sony, it’s not a bad idea that they finally put out this behind the scenes overview of the series before its March 10 premiere. Three episodes will go up on the PlayStation Store, with a new episode following each Tuesday. Powers has caught my interest, so I might as well check it out with my PlayStation Plus account. Read more…
Tags: Powers, PS3, PS4, Sony, Superheroes
Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 18, 2015 in Cinema 
Anyone can take a movie and toss it up on an IMAX screen. But to make a movie worth the surcharge, it usually requires that part of the movie was actually shot on IMAX cameras, something that director Christopher Nolan loves to do. While Interstellar might have gotten more mixed reviews, it can’t be denied that it’s even more visually stunning in IMAX. The movie has been out of theaters for a while, but you’ve got one more chance to see it in IMAX. AMC has announced that select IMAX theaters will show Interstellar — with twelve minutes of additional footage — this Saturday, February 21, at 3PM. You’ll have to buy the tickets at the box office, since it’s not available online, but as a trade-off, you’ll get two tickets for the price of one. The first 300 people will get a set of Interstellar prints. Check the list below and plan accordingly. Read more…
Tags: AMC, Christopher Nolan, IMAX, Interstellar
Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 17, 2015 in Videogames 
It’s already pretty ridiculous that you take missions from Abraham Lincoln in Nintendo’s upcoming game Codename: S.T.E.A.M. The 3DS strategy game is being made by Intelligent Systems, the talented team behind Advance Wars and Fire Emblem. And in this new game, you’re taking orders from the man who saved the Union. And if that isn’t enough, apparently Lincoln has a Lincoln-Bot (powered by steam, of course). Could we already have the undisputed game of the year by March 13? Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Nintendo
Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 17, 2015 in Animation 
Back in high school, one of the first videos I saw as internet video was taking off was Don Hertzfeldt’s Oscar-nominated classic Rejected. I still quote it to this day! Hertzfeldt is such a creative animator, and his next short film, World of Tomorrow, looks intriguing. Check out the trailer below, with its mixture of stick figures and colorful, alien vistas. It’ll be out on March 31. Read more…
Tags: Don Hertzfeldt, Short Films
Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 12, 2015 in Cinema 
Guy Ritchie has proven he can do period movies like Sherlock Holmes, and this trailer shows why. WB has revived the classic “spy-fi” TV show The Man from U.N.C.L.E. as a movie, starring Henry Cavill (Man of Steel) as Napoleon Solo and Armie Hammer (The Lone Ranger) as Illya Kuryakin. The American and Russian must team up to stop an organization that threatens both country in the middle of the Cold War. It’s nice that they didn’t feel the need to update the setting to modern times, but ironically, with current US-Russian relations, they almost could have. But that means we get to see modern action mixed with 60s style, which I’m always down to watch. Read more…
Tags: Spy, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 12, 2015 in Cinema, Videogames 
On the surface, this trailer for Hitman: Agent 47 isn’t too bad. There’s some decent action, and it seems that Agent 47 is being portrayed as a villain this time. That makes sense, because he, you know, kills people. But something about the whole thing feels off. Isn’t stealth a major part of the game series this is based off of? It seems that got lost along the way, so unless the action and story is particularly impressive, I doubt this will please either fans or non-fans, just like the first movie. Read more…
Tags: 20th Century Fox, Hitman
Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 11, 2015 in Videogames 
Evolve has launched, so you know what that means: a launch trailer! In case you’ve been living under a rock, Evolve is from the guys who originally made Left 4 Dead with Valve. It takes the co-op shooter vs. zombies idea and updates it to a co-op shooter vs. a giant beastie. 1 guy hunts down the four other players who are trying to kill him, making the game 4v1. It’s interesting to see more asymmetrical gameplay, similar to some of the things Nintendo has tried with the Wii U. Anyway, if you’re not sold yet, watch this trailer and maybe the game will be sold to you later! (Alright, that was horrible.) Read more…
Tags: Evolve
Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 11, 2015 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Quick recap: when the company was going through hard times, Marvel sold the film rights to its most popular characters, which meant when they started making movies, they needed to turn their B-list heroes into stars. They’ve reacquired some of those rights, but X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man have remained in the hands of Fox and Sony. But since Sony’s Spider-Man movies have been floundering — The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is just awful — they’ve been talking to Marvel to try and get things back on track. Thankfully, they finally have a deal, and it’s great news for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Spider-Man’s back. Or almost back. Read more…
Tags: Marvel, Sony, Spider-man
Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 10, 2015 in Anime, Videogames 
The first One Piece: Pirate Warriors was a fairly enjoyable game, but certain story arcs from the manga were conspicuously absent. Some of those characters and areas were included in the sequel, but that game had an original story. So now we have One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 for PS3, PS4, and Vita, which adds in a lot of those missing elements, most notably Thriller Bark and the fight against Gekko Moriah. I’m interested in playing a more complete version, and I know there are other improvements, going by this trailer. But seeing as so much of this stuff was in the first game, it’s hard to get as enthusiastic about its release. If I find more interest in it, the game is coming out in Japan in March, in the US sometime this summer, and in Europe before the end of 2015.
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Tags: Namco Bandai, One Piece, Playstation Vita, PS3, PS4
Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 10, 2015 in Comic Books, Television 
Superhero or superhero-esque stories are very popular right now, and in the last two years, we’ve seen a bunch of shows start airing on network TV, of all things. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, and Gotham may not be pulling in the usual network TV ratings, but they’re succeeding in their intended demographic and keeping pace with the CW’s Arrow and Flash. But NBC’s Constantine is not doing so hot, partially because of what they’re allowed to get away with on network TV, and partially because Friday night is a horrible night for new TV. As the future of the show is uncertain, a rumor has surfaced that NBC may move it to another one of its networks: SyFy. Read more…
Tags: Constantine, DC Comics, NBC
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