|
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 11, 2014 in Videogames 
Square Enix had previously expressed interest in broadening Theatrhythm Final Fantasy to other franchises they own, like Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts. So after having no need of further Final Fantasy music collections after the last Theatrhythm, it just makes sense to see Square Enix announce Theatrhythm Dragon Quest. As with the past two Theatrhythm games, this one’s on 3DS, with a release date of March 26, 2015 in Japan. As usual, we don’t yet know if this will be localized for other countries; Theatrhythm has done well in the US, but Dragon Quest has a much smaller fanbase here, with Square Enix often declining to localize both major and minor entries alike. If they do release it outside of Japan, I’d say to pick it up right away, as there’s no telling if the game would perform well enough to justify a sequel like the first Theatrhythm.
Read more…
Tags: Dragon Quest, square enix
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 11, 2014 in Animation, Cinema 
I know that Pixar’s next movie is called Inside Out, but to me, this is a Cranium Command movie. Inside Out is about the emotions that live inside all of our heads and make our decisions; the movie focuses on the mind of a teenage girl. Similarly, Cranium Command was an Epcot ride about the person who lives inside our head and makes our decisions (along with other parts of the body); the ride focused on the body of a teenage boy. Sure, the new trailer for Inside Out is funny and charming. But more importantly, seeing as Cranium Command was closed years ago, this is the closest thing I’ve got to one of my favorite Epcot attractions! Read more…
Tags: Inside Out, Pixar
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 10, 2014 in Videogames 
Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse launched on 3DS this fall, but was delayed on Wii U. However, a tweet from developer WayForward states that the game is in final testing at Nintendo of America. He thinks a 2014 may still be possible, which would be great for those who get a Wii U for Christmas to play. Hopefully it happens, but in the meantime, here’s the latest Wii U trailer. Enjoy those pretty sprites, because the next Shantae game, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, is using hand-drawn 2D graphics instead of traditional sprites. It’s still pretty in its own way, but it’s not the same. Read more…
Tags: Shantae, Wii U
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 10, 2014 in Videogames 
So Paul McCartney wrote a song for Bungie’s Destiny, since he worked on the soundtrack for the game. It’s called “Hope for the Future,” and it’s the ending song for the game. It is a bad, generic song about wanting a better tomorrow, but it can get worse. There’s now this official music video, and it’s really bad. Ghost projects a hologram of McCartney singing the song and just looking ridiculous, as Guardians sit and listen for some reason, while the rest of the imagery tries its best to sell the game. If I didn’t already pass on buying Destiny, this certainly wouldn’t have helped persuade me. Read more…
Tags: Destiny, Music, music videos
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 9, 2014 in Cinema 
Legendary Pictures’ Godzilla may have gotten some mixed-to-positive reception earlier this year, but it still doesn’t count as a “true” Godzilla film. Toho, the original Japanese producers, haven’t made a new movie since their 2004 send-off Godzilla: Final Wars. But twelve years later, in 2016, the hiatus will end and Toho will release a new Godzilla film. A story and cast will be announced later, while production will start in Summer 2015. This seems to be a full reboot, so it likely won’t have any ties to the previous Millennium Era films. Toho claims that Japan’s film industry can now achieve Hollywood-style effects without spending Hollywood-level money. Hopefully that means they’re still planning to use plenty of practical effects, and hopefully use people in suits instead of CG monsters.
Read more…
Tags: Godzilla, Toho
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 9, 2014 in Comic Books, Television 
I love in-jokey meta references in TV series, and The Flash has a cool one coming up. Not content to cast John Wesley Snipp, the star of the 1990 one-season live-action adaptation Flash, as the father to the new show’s Flash, the producers are bringing back Mark Hamill as James Jesse, the Trickster. Hamill played the character in a Joker-like fashion, and ended up voicing the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series. But in this series, the Trickster is an “anarchist terrorist con man” in jail for life; he ends up helping the Flash to stop the attacks of a Trickster copycat, a possible reference to the second Trickster from the original comics. I have a feeling Mark Hamill will play this version much straighter, but I’d love if they snuck in a glimpse of that comical clashing costume from the old series. Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Flash
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 4, 2014 in Cinema 
We’ve got the first footage of Terminator: Genisys, the reboot of the franchise that also sees Arnold Schwarzenegger return to his iconic role. Apparently, not just the T-800 is back, as we get a glimpse of a T-1000. I don’t think Robert Patrick is returning for this one, but since the T-1000 could look any way it wants, that’s not an issue. Honestly, everything looks solid, and that time machine is particularly cool, but I just don’t see reboots like this getting as much play as the originals. Read more…
Tags: arnold schwarzenegger, Terminator Genisys
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 4, 2014 in Tech, Videogames 
It’s been 20 years since the PlayStation first launched in Japan on December 3, 1994. To celebrate that important date, Sony is producing a special gray PS4, just like the PS1. The gray extends to the DualShock 4 controller, which brings back even more memories of gray controllers, as well as the vertical stand and camera accessories. There’s no mention of the cost, but if you’re a collector, you’ll want to pay whatever they’re asking: only 12,300 units will be made available worldwide. US gamers should watch the PlayStation Experience keynote on Saturday, December 6 at 10AM PT to learn how to buy one of these rare systems. For the rest of us, we’ll have to settle for the detailed video below, which shows off details, such as etchings of PlayStation button symbols. Hey Sony, how about a gray controller for those of us who already own a PS4? Read more…
Tags: PS4, Sony
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 3, 2014 in Videogames 
Out of nowhere, Steam has decided to enter the game-streaming arena currently dominated by Twitch and Ustream. They’ve announced the beta of Steam Broadcasting, which allows you to watch your friend’s game as they’re playing it. When someone starts watching, the player automatically starts broadcasting, with the broadcast ending once no one is watching. Naturally, there are privacy settings, which range from only sending invites to allow viewers to letting your friends actively creep on you. The highest setting lets anyone watch and shows your broadcast on the game’s hub, allowing built-in streaming with no need for extra software/hardware. Lowering barriers always results in more people streaming, which is always great for the activity. Read more…
Tags: Steam
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 3, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Can we admit that despite WB’s questionable direction of their DC Cinematic Universe, the Suicide Squad movie actually sounds good? WB just put out a press release announcing the stars of the film, and it is a very solid cast. We’ve got: Jared Leto as the Joker, Will Smith as Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney is Boomerang, Cara Delevingne as Enchantress, and Tom Hardy as Rick Flagg. They haven’t picked their actress for Amanda Waller yet, but rumor says that Oprah Winfrey is their top pick, with Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer also being considered. With Fury‘s David Ayer writing and directing, Suicide Squad may survive having Man of Steel‘s Zack Snyder as its producer. Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Suicide Squad, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 2, 2014 in Videogames 
With the New 3DS and New 3DS XL out in Japan (and for some reason Australia), it was inevitable that Nintendo would eventually discontinue the original 3DS and 3DS XL models. But surprisingly, Nintendo has already announced that it was soon ending production on the 3DS XL (actually called the 3DS LL in Japan). In the past, Nintendo has left previous models in production, as a low-cost option for consumers. (For example, at one point the DS Lite, DSi, and DSi XL were in production, partially because the larger DSi XL didn’t truly replace the previous models because many consumers want a smaller device.) But with the New 3DS systems effectively replacing the old 3DS systems around the same price, it’s not surprising that the previous models would disappear much quicker. The only thing strange about this is that Nintendo is still keeping the original 3DS in the marketplace. It’s a strange choice for what was easily the weakest design of them all, with small issues that suggested it was rushed to market. Get that thing out of here! Read more…
Tags: 3DS, New 3DS, Nintendo
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 2, 2014 in Videogames 
Double Fine may have helped pioneer game development funded by fans, earning over $3.3 million back in 2012 for Broken Age, then titled Double Fine Adventure. After making much more than they originally expected, the studio were able to increase the scope of what they had planned, even hiring voice actors like Elijah Wood. But as a result, the game was split into two halves, so they could sell the first half to finish funding the second half. Now even Act 2 has been pushed back to early 2015, but at least the game looks to have its alpha done by the end of 2014, as both characters’ stories are in alpha and only the finale remains, with one character already on the way to beta. It’s been a strange release process, but at least Broken Age is finally getting out there, even if many later crowd-funded games have already released in the interim. Read more…
Tags: Broken Age, double fine
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 27, 2014 in Animation 
For those who remember the classic CG cartoon ReBoot, you may have heard of a new series in the works. Rainmaker Entertainment is still working on the reimagining, and they just updated their website. The new series will now be called ReBoot: The Guardian Core, and it has a shiny new logo to prove it. The show is reported to have all the classic characters return in a format similar to the first two seasons of the original series. Hopefully one of these days, Rainmaker will have something more substantial to show us, since little else is known as of now. Read more…
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 27, 2014 in Videogames 
My backlog is getting too big, because I haven’t even gotten around to playing Dark Souls II yet, and here we are getting a newer version. Namco Bandai has announced that they are porting the game to the PS4 and Xbox One, as well as a new DirectX11 PC version. The new releases will feature enhanced graphics, the three previously-released DLC chapters, and additional content. Both the new and previous releases will also get a patch with a new quest, additional story, balancing, and online improvements. It sounds cool, but it’s an odd choice. The first Dark Souls is considered the better game, and From Software’s spiritual sequel Bloodborne will be released a month prior on PS4. I’m curious how many players will be interested in this rerelease. Read more…
Tags: Dark Souls, PS4, Xbox One
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 26, 2014 in Cinema 
Since the last two Jurassic Park movies were so bad, I think it’s fair to approach Jurassic World with some caution. The trailer looks surprisingly interesting, depicting Jurassic Park as it was intended to be. The problem in this one comes from a new dinosaur made to attract more people to the park, because something always goes wrong when man plays God. As far as I can judge for the trailer, it looks like this movie will at least be better than its abysmal predecessor. But it’s a shame how reliant we are on CGI these days, because some of those dinosaurs can’t hope to match up to the animatronics used in the original Jurassic Park. Read more…
Tags: Dinosaurs, Jurassic Park, Jurassic World
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 26, 2014 in Cinema 
First of all, I don’t think Peter Pan needs an origin. I don’t need to know how he got to Neverland, and in fact, knowing too much may make things worse. That said, if you can separate the fact that this is some origin/prequel/whatever, this first trailer for Pan looks like a fun, interesting story. There are many liberties, such as Hugh Jackman playing Captain Blackbeard, and Hook neither being a captain or possessing a hook. But that just makes it easier to ignore that this is tied too closely to the original Peter Pan story and enjoy the adventure. Pan isn’t out until 2015, so by the time more information drips out, we’ll know whether that optimism was justified or not.
Read more…
Tags: Peter Pan, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 25, 2014 in Comic Books 
One of the reasons many comic fans have been hoping for a female-led superhero movie (at least one in the modern mold) is that it would offer a different perspective and outlook than the many male-led superhero movies that have come before, to give more variety to the stories told. One way to improve the chances of Wonder Woman expressing that is to hire a female director, and Warner Brothers seems to have made a great choice. Michelle MacLaren, known for directing episodes of such great TV series as Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, and The Walking Dead, has signed on to develop and direct the film. (Charles Roven, Zack Snyder, and Deborah Snyder will produce.) I feel that Snyder is one of the weakest links DC keeps using, so hopefully with MacLaren directing, we’ll get something better than Man of Steel. Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Warner Brothers, Wonder Woman
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 25, 2014 in Comic Books, Videogames 
It’s one thing to hear about Batman: Arkham Knight, the final installment (supposedly) of the series from Rocksteady, adding the Batmobile seamlessly into gameplay. It’s another thing to see it in action, but this trailer shows how awesome it could be. Imagine Link’s ability to summon Epona anywhere in Hyrule Field in Ocarina of Time, but with the ability to hop on and off the horse at a moment’s notice, even in mid-combat. That’s what the Batmobile looks like, and it seems like a joy to use. This is only half of the ACE Chemicals sequence, with the other half being released next week, so stay tuned! Read more…
Tags: Batman, Batman: Arkham Knight, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 20, 2014 in Cinema 
It’s hard to think of many aliens more iconic than the Xenomorph of Ridley Scott’s Alien. Scott realizes we still need new attempts though, so apparently he has teased a new alien to appear in the third act of Prometheus 2. Scott said that he’d avoid species from previous Alien films, and to “Stop the dragons.” The rumor of God or Satan being involved was also denied. I’m not that surprised, I always figured there were more aliens in that version of space. I’d be interested to hear how they may relate to other species though. Read more…
Tags: Alien, Prometheus, Ridley Scott
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 20, 2014 in Cinema 
Disney has been raiding the Disney Vault for classic animated movies that can be remade into live-action features. After Alice in Wonderland and Maleficent, the next up is Cinderella. I’m of the opinion that these effects-driven movies are just cashing in on the original story and are completely unnecessary. But while the last two films just looked awful from the start, Cinderella actually looks alright. There isn’t visual overload and it just seems like a retelling of the classic fairy tale. It’s still completely unnecessary, but maybe this movie has a chance of being a good movie. Despite my distaste for director Kenneth Branagh, his Shakespearean sensibilities seem to be a good fit. And with Helena Bonham Carter cast as a non-crazy person, plus Cate Blanchett, they’ve got some good actors participating. Read more…
Tags: Disney, Fantasy
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 19, 2014 in Videogames 
BioWare knows it has to make up for Dragon Age 2 after a mixed reaction from fans. From all that we’ve got to see of Dragon Age: Inquisition in preview form, it feels like BioWare is really swinging for the fences, manically working to make an epic game that everyone can enjoy. This launch trailer looks pretty great — not just the game itself, but the beautiful graphics. It makes me kind of sad I’m behind on these games; I never finished Dragon Age: Origins, so maybe I’ll be returning to that one in an attempt to catch up to Inquisition.
Read more…
Tags: BioWare, Dragon Age, EA, RPG
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 19, 2014 in Animation, Cinema 
Look, we’re getting an animated Peanuts movie whether we want it or not. Thankfully, BlueSky Studios has got the look down pat, despite being CGI. And “voices” like Snoopy and Woodstock sound good. But what is up with that generic pop song? That’s not Peanuts. It’s likely just trailer music, but it seems odd. Anyway, the Christmas theme makes me want to see this soon, but it’s not coming out until 2015. While Peanuts is still a classic comic to me, I wonder if modern kids will view it the same way. Read more…
Tags: 20th Century Fox, Peanuts
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 18, 2014 in Anime 
Dragon Ball Z is getting its continued anime revivals with the original creator Akira Toriyama actively involved. The next movie has been announced: Dragon Ball Z: Fukkatsu no F, due out April 18, 2015 in Japan. The title refers to the Japanese word for resurrection, fukkatsu, and also Frieza, the most iconic villain from the long-running series. It sounds like someone is wishing him back to life, and somehow Beerus, the antagonist from the previous film, will be involved, as he is on the poster. While I’m interested in seeing Frieza come back, it’s going to be a challenge to make him menacing again without only relying on some increase to his “power level.” After his initial defeat, his subsequent appearances resulted in embarrassing further defeats. Hopefully they find something interesting to do with him. Read more…
Tags: Dragonball
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 18, 2014 in Anime, Videogames 
Since Pokemon Black 2 & White 2, new Pokemon games have received anime teasers to sell what the game is like, but prettier. To be honest, I think they’re pretty cool, with lots of action and a tantalizing overview of some of the game’s moments. But invariably, I realize that they look too good; we’ll never get anything that cool in the Pokemon anime with dopey Ash Ketchum, the world’s least-capable Pokemon protagonist. Why can’t Nintendo do something cool with the anime like these game ads? Tell the animators to get on it! Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Nintendo, Pokémon
|
|
