Earlier today, Sideshow Collectibles debuted their upcoming G.I.Joe Cobra Commander premium format figure. This fantastic sculpt includes an interchangeable hood/helmet just in case you’re partial to his Marvel comics counterpart. In addition, the cape is also removable — though, I’m sure you’ll agree that any good villain needs a cape. The level of detail on these premium figures is absolutely exquisite, but that comes at a price — $300 with only 500 units being produced. In order to secure you preorder you’ll need to sign up for their newslettter and log in on March 10th to have your shot. It kind of makes you wonder who the real terrorists are. Could Sideshow Collectibles just be a front for Cobra? We’ll never know.
I never thought I’d need a Starfleet-issued bathrobe — that is, until I saw one. Fashioned after their Star Trek original series counterparts, these terrycloth robes come designed with fanboys in mind. For instance, “Command Gold” comes em captain’s rank properly embroidered on the sleeves, along with a command insignia on the left breast. “Sciences Blue” features a commander rank and sciences insignia. For now, those are the only colors available. If you’d rather hold out in hopes of picking up Scotty’s red, those should be available by April. The robes cost a hefty $49.99 via ThinkGeek, but something tells me it’s worth it.
The Bruce Lee classic Fist of Fury — or The Chinese Connection, for those of you who remember — recently received a proper sequel after nearly 4 decades. The 2010 film Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen, starring Donnie Yen as Lee’s replacement, will have its limited theatrical release in North America next month. Some of you might be wondering why Zhen is rocking the Kato costume, but don’t worry, there’s a reason for it aside from giving a nod to Lee who, as you should know, played the Hornet’s masked sidekick on the original TV series.
It’s still far from a confirmation, but during his 2011 Game Developers Conference panel, Sega producer Yu Suzuki shocked everyone by stating that he believes Sega will finally let him finish the Shenmue saga with the third and final installment of the trilogy. While the original titles were considered ground breaking both terms of gameplay and aesthetics, a number of factors ultimately led Sega to the cancel their plans for a third entry in the series. Read more…
I’m not sure why it bothers me so much to see those vans with those family decals stuck on their rear-view windows. Something about having to advertise the fact that your family shares a mini-van just seems a little much. If, on the other hand, your family owns the Millennium Falcon, I think I’d be okay with it. That’s why I love this design by artist Steve Thomas. I don’t think you’ll be able to find the sticker, but you can head over to TeeFury and pick up this nifty design on a custom tee of your own. Like every other design that gets featured on the site, it’ll only be available for 24 hours, or until it sells out — whichever comes first. Read more…
It’s been nearly six years since TheElder Scrolls IV: Oblivion blew us away with its vast world filled with rich open-ended content and seemingly unparalleled visuals — at least, for its time. Those visuals were quickly dated, but kept fresh thanks to a large community bent on modding the game to meet their standards. Now, we’re finally getting our first look at the in-game engine for the upcoming sequel, Skyrim. Read more…
If you’re a fan of the Trek and also happen to enjoy the occasional comic, you might want to check out GIT Corp’s Star Trek: The Complete Comic Book Collection. Produced back in 2008, this digital collection covers over 500 issues from 1967 through 2002. That said, the title might be a bit misleading — I’d hardly call it a definitive or complete collection — but it’s certainly a lot of content. To top it off, Amazon is currently offering the collection for 90% off its list price. Rather than paying the full $30, you can snag this collection for only $7. At that price, it’s practically stealing. Check the Amazon listing for a detailed list of comics included in this package.
A while back I came across an interesting iPhone app called Bijin Tokei. I had no idea what it was at first, but I knew enough Japanese to figure out it had something to do with beautiful girls. That said, I didn’t know what to expect, especially considering Apple keeps their app store relatively clean. Turns out it’s simply a clock app that simply displays pictures of beautiful Japanese girls holding up the time. I can’t say my mind was blown, but I have to admit it’s entertaing enough to keep me coming back and tame enough to not feel creepy. Read more…
When it comes to otaku clothing, I’ve always found finding fashionable items to be a challenge. Sure there’s some gems out there, but generally speaking, it’s kind of hard to look sharp when you’re sporting a lounge shirt with your favorite Dragon Ball character printed all over it. These gloves, on the other hand, are hardly such an eyesore. Not only do they sport a slick NERV logo, they’re also utilitarian, making them perfect for your Vespa, motorcycle, or piloting your very own Evangelion unit. J-List has them for $60 before shipping but you can probably snag them cheaper elsewhere. Read more…
Last Tuesday, Netflix reached a landmark deal with CBS to stream what no other service has streamed before — at least, without charging an arm and a leg for individual episodes. By now you’ve probably guessed it, but they’ve secured the license to stream every Star Trek series in their entirety, along with a whole catalog of classics like Cheers, Family Ties, and one of my personal favorites, The Twilight Zone. As far as Star Trek is concerned, this may be a first as I don’t recall any other service to date offering all six shows — that’s assuming they’ll be getting access to the animated series with this deal.
Ever since the first trailers for Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger hit the net, fans have been gearing up for what could be Marvel’s most anticipated film since 2008’s Iron Man. Given the excitement surrounding the film, many true believers have had to make due with comics and games, but I know there are those of you out there who like to burn holes in your wallets. My suggestion? Take a gander at Sideshow Collectibles’ Captain America premium format figure. This limited edition statue stands over two feet tall and features an incredibly detailed sculpt. Unfortunately that’s not the only thing incredible about it. Seeing as they’re only making 1,000 of them, the price tag stands at a hefty $290 not including tax and shipping, though at that price I can’t imagine they’d charge for it. Still, it’s mighty impressive and, if you’re a big enough fan, worth every penny. Read more…
I was already a little iffy about the next Superman film after director Zack Snyder announced his plans to cast English actor Henry Cavill as our beloved Clark Kent, and now we’re hearing that Kevin Costner has been cast as Kent’s adopted father. As much as I’d like to give Costner credit for his storied acting career, many of the major films he’s starred in have tanked at the box office. To be honest, I’m not really sure how much of that is his fault — after all, he’s not a bad actor — but if the naysayers are to be believed, his involvement may as well serve as an omen. I hope both him, and his co-star prove me wrong. Besides, it’s not like he’s the star of the film.
I don’t know why I thought Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga would be the last in the series of Star Wars and Lego crossovers. Maybe I just thought Lego was planning on sticking with film franchises they knew they’d be able to cash in on — Indiana Jones, and Harry Potter for example. Turns out I was wrong. Today marked the release of the official demo for the latest title in the series, Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars. As you’ve probably guessed, the plot of the game will follow the Cartoon Network animated series with a number of cameos from both the show and original films.
Could we be seeing a Hollywood-produced Star Blazers live-action film in foreseeable future? Well, it’s not 100% official just yet. Skydance Productions are reportedly in the process of negotiating the license for the series. If some of you recall, Japan recently produced a live-action adaptation of their own that performed pretty well, so I imagine there’s probably some pressure to make sure the Hollywood adaptation will at least hold a candle to that. It probably won’t be a problem, seeing as they plan on hiring Christopher McQuarrie to write the script — he’s also working on the upcoming Wolverine “sequel.”
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Feb 22, 2011 in Science, Tech
Japan recently announced that they’re considering sending a talking humanoid robot to the International Space Station in 2013. In addition to offering companionship, and being generally creepy — it’s suppose to monitor the astronauts while they sleep — it’ll communicate with Earth via twitter, where it’ll tweet images to its followers on the ground. Sadly, I don’t think the robot will posess super-human strength, or any form of self-awareness. After all, I doubt Japan has any cyberneticists capable of crafting the appropriate positronic components. Read more…
Various outlets are reporting that Friday Night Lights star Adrianne Palicki has been cast as Diana Prince in NBC’s upcoming Wonder Woman television series. The joint venture between writer David E. Kelley and Jeffrey Reiner had a bumpy start, but after being passed on by a number of networks, NBC finally came to the rescue. Unfortunately, like rival network Fox, NBC is often quick to pull the plug if a show doesn’t hit the ground running. We’ll just have to hope that Palicki has the skills to match her striking looks — after all, anyone can dye their hair black, but handling that Lasso of Truth? Well, that remains to be seen.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Feb 17, 2011 in Videogames
Xbox 360 owners are in for a bit of treat when they pre-order Larin Studios’ upcoming expansion for their hit RPG Divinity II, entitled The Dragon Knight Saga. Those of you who were unfortunate enough to own the previous title for your console may be happy to know that this upcoming release will feature a remastered version, complete with new content, an improved engine and support for the Flames of Vengeance add-on. On top of that, Atlus, the game’s North American publisher has decided to sell it for the low price of $39.99, and those of you who pre-order will recieve an art book and soundtrack to boot.
Check out this fantastic little mash-up by writer & graphic designer Ben Huber. Anyone who’s a fan of Baccano! will recognize the characters but the image is quite clearly paying homage to a certain poster from Christopher Nolan’s box office hit, Inception. On top of that, you’ll really appreciate the attention to detail, as while you may be unable to see the text without enlarging the image, those credits are completely accurate. It sort of blows my mind that he had time to do that, but it’s certainly cool that he did.
Last week, fellow fanboy Mike Sacco posted the X-Men: First Class trailer that premiered on the film’s official facebook. Like most of you, I was pretty excited about the new direction the series will be taking with this prequel of sorts. The trailer itself did a great job of selling us on the premise — the young Charles Xavier befriends Erik Lensherr and forms the original X-Men, amidst what we came to know as the cold war. Recently, IGN broke down the trailer piece by piece to show us all the little easter eggs we missed the first time around, and if you’re big on Marvel lore, or some hints about the plot, you’ll want to give it a watch. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Feb 15, 2011 in Videogames
If you’re a Playstation Plus user — and I know most of you aren’t — you’re in for a treat today. Sony passed along a free copy of the PS3/PSP mini The Flying Hamster as their gift to you — just check your PS3 message box for a note containing an attachment that’ll allow you to download it for free.I have to admit, I wasn’t very optimistic with the initial offerings for Playstation Plus subscribers. For a paid subscription service, Xbox Live! looked far more attractive, with a plethora of content fuled by the seemingly endless stream of income generated by the enormous user base.
Visitors from all around flocked to San Francisco’s Union Square Park yesterday to catch a glimpse of Lawrence Noble’s giant fiber glass Yoda heart. The attraction is part of San Francisco’s Heroes and Hearts fundraiser to benefit San Francisco General’s Hospital Foundation — an independent NPO that supports patient care at the city’s largest hospital. I’m glad they finished it just in time for Valentine’s Day, but I really wish they had gotten to word out sooner. As you can see from the video above, people have been posing for pictures with it all day. No word on how long this temporary attraction will be on display, but if you do visit, don’t be that guy who has to throw up the Vulcan salute. It’s just not cool.
Last weekend marked Tokyo’s 2011 Winter Wonder Festival, a show dedicated specifically Japan’s booming toy market. There, skilled artisans are allowed to sell their custom garage kit models while companies like Kotobukiya and Max Factory show off their upcoming product lines. One of the more popular lines would be Max Factory’s Figmas. The big selling point on these figures, in addition to being incredibly affordable, is their small joint sizes, allowing for good amount of articulation. They also tend to come with interchangable parts — such as heads, or arms — and accessories to match each figure.
I know a lot of you are probably excited for X-Men First Class due out in theaters later this year. For those of you who haven’t heard much about the project, the film covers the beginning of the X-Men saga, when Magneto and Charles Xavier first learn of their powers, working together in an effort to better life for mutant-kind. No doubt the story leads up to the formation of the original X-Men we’ve come to know and love. So far, the official facebook page only has this teaser logo, but according to the guys over at Collider, we can expect a trailer to be posted on the facebook page sometime tomorrow — so keep your eyes peeled. Read more…
I’ve been a big fan of NBC’s primetime programming — at least, what’s left of it — for awhile now, but Community hasn’t exactly been on my list of must-see programming. Perhaps it was last season’s slow start or the fact that I adore 30 Rock so much that I hold everything to that standard. To be honest, I probably shouldn’t. There’s probably plenty of reasons the network has been trailing, and until last week I felt Community might be one of them. Boy, was I wrong.
