I love behind-the-scenes and production videos. It’s especially great when someone like Peter Jackson gives you details into the work behind the upcoming Hobbit film. It’s really impressive how nicely made these video blogs are, too. This is the sixth one so far, and it details Andy Serkis’ work as the second unit director, dwarves fooling around, almost getting swept away in a flash flood, beautiful New Zealand landscapes, and oranges. Lots and lots of oranges. Click through for the full 12-minute video. Read more…
Who doesn’t want some awesome hi-def Indiana Jones action? Finally, after much waiting, we’ve gotten an official announcement of Indiana Jones arriving on Blu-Ray this fall. Sadly, there aren’t really any other details aside from the announcement itself and an Amazon listing for the package that features the pricetag of $75. I’d pay more if Crystal Skull was left out. I kid, I kid. Check out the 720p trailer after the jump. Read more…
Ubisoft has officially revealed the first details for the next installment in the Assassin’s Creed series. While we had heard reliable rumors and rumblings of the setting being the American Revolution for while, this is the first time we’ve gotten hi-res official images. It’s part of the the promotion with Game Informer as their next cover story. Ubisoft has apparently been spending a good three years working on AC3, so it looks like they’re putting their best foot forward here. Read more…
Next week marks the release of Mass Effect 3, Bioware’s high-anticipated finale to the on-going adventures of Commander Shepard and his crew as they attempt to save humanity, and the known universe, from its greatest threat yet. Personally, I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy, but until then, I’m left looking elsewhere for my Mass Effect fix. Introducing The Art of the Mass Effect Universe. This full-sized coffee table book comes packed with over 180 pages of art, featuring everything from character studies to weaponry and more. Read more…
Microsoft’s latest entry in their series of flight simulators, simply titled Microsoft Flight, is out and it’s free-to-play via its official website. There’s still the option of paying for premium content, with the option to purchase a plane of your own with just an exterior cam for just $7.99. A $14.99 deluxe package gives you the option of a cockpit view as well. As far as missions and such, the $19.99 Hawaiian Adventure Pack gives you free reign of the Hawaiian islands, with 20 new mission and additional challenges to keep you busy. It’s interesting to see how popular the free-to-play platform has become, and I have to wonder if piracy could be the cause. Is it really that more lucrative?
Today, Paramount and Marvel are set to release their latest trailer for The Avengers. It’s available via Apple.com, so we won’t be able to stream it for you, but if you’re so inclined, click here to visit Apple’s trailer page. The film is still set for early May, so we only have a few more months to wait and from what we’ve seen so far, I really hope it’ll be worth the wait. What little has been revealed seems promising enough, but even with all the press floating around the set, there’s always that chance the film could fail to deliver — especially when dealing with such a star-studded cast. There’s a lot of egos involved, and it’ll be interesting to see if they function dynamically. Whedon certainly had his work cut out for him, so let’s hope it pays off. The Avengers will hit theaters May 4th.
This has been a long time coming, but now they’re finally here. Starting today, Marvel will be releasing its digital graphic novels via Apple’s iBookstore. So far there is over sixty titles available from their catalog from popular titles like X-Men, The Avengers, Spider-Man and more. I know many of you are still comic book purists and have to physical copies, but for those of you who’ve embraced the digital age, this should provide a welcome alternative. Marvel’s promising new releases each week, as well as free previews for each graphic novel, including an extended preview for New Avengers Volume 1. Read more…
YouTube voice-over extraordinaire Brock Baker recently uploaded his abridged dub for Star Wars: Episode IV. It’s mostly silly, but hilarious at times and definitely not safe for work. While I chuckled here and there throughout, nothing really beats his Chewbacca. I’m not sure why it’s so good, and I’m not even sure you’ll love it too, but I can promise it’s not what you’d expect. Still, he must be doing something right because after 8,200 people “liked” the video, he only managed to rack up 150 “dislikes.” Most impressive, considering the material. If you dig it, check out his YouTube Channel for more.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Feb 28, 2012 in Design, Tech
Some of us use it for work, others just to craft memes for their favorite image boards, but one thing is for certain, Adobe Photoshop has easily become a staple of internet culture. Until recently iOS users have been forced to contend with Adobe’s Photoshop Express which, as I’m sure many of you know from their browser-based version, comes with an extremely limited toolset, missing features like multiple layers, advanced adjustments, filters and more. The complaints haven’t gone unnoticed. To provide a tablet alternative, Adobe recently released Photoshop Touch. Read more…
The comedy epic Monty Python and the Holy Grail is finally making Blu-ray debut. The film’s been “digitally remastered for high-definition,” so I imagine that means they did more than just upscale the previous DVD release. The Blu-ray release will also include several exclusive features, such as “Second Screen Experience” compatibility, along with extended scenes, outtakes, lost animations and more. Finally, the disc features UltraViolet compatibility, granting its owner a digital license for the product. The owner can then instantly stream, or download a digital copy of the film. Monty Python and the Holy Grail will be available March 6th and retails for $19.99, but you can pre-order it via Amazon for just $12.99. Read more…
So here’s the latest trailer for BBC Worldwide and Supermassive Games’ upcoming adventure title, Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock. BBC decided to label it “epic,” but I’m not so sure about that. It certainly features a lot of rotating environments, voice acting and running. The Doctor and River both make an appearance, voiced by Matt Smith and Alex Kingston respectively, and it will be the first Vita game to utilize the Unreal Engine, but that last bit is hardly anything to brag about. The engine has been around for awhile and it certainly showing its age. The game, set to release sometime next month, will be available via PlayStation Network for both the PlayStation Vita, and PS3.
I saw this video on Topless Robot earlier and simply had to share: one guy at Belated Media shares his way of fixing Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. He makes a fair amount of tweaks to the story – some minor and silly, others incredibly astute. But he shares the opinion of the Clone Wars creators that Darth Maul should’ve lived, something I strongly agree with. Check out the full video below the break! Read more…
ThreeA has put out some amazing stuff over the years, and their recent partnership with Konami to create a 1/48th scale Metal Gear Rex got a lot of people excited. We saw a few preview images a while back, but now we’ve got the full details and full-color photos: Metal Gear Rex will go on sale March 2nd at 9am Hong Kong time (8pm EST, March 1st) and it’ll be priced at $490. Pricey? Yes. But holy crap does it look fantastic. Read more…
Borderlands 2 looks like a pretty sweet game. In fact, this trailer did a good job of showing off the game – but there’s one little thing. I have no real problem with dubstep, but wow, is it just me or is it used in every game trailer these days? It’s getting really annoying, to be honest. There’s other music out there! At least they have a sense of humor about it, and have Claptrap dance awkwardly for your entertainment. Check out the trailer below for plenty of dubstep and extra guns. The game is out September 18th. Read more…
Posted by Joe Strike on Feb 25, 2012 in Comic Books
Hey wow, now you can own every Fold-In Al Jaffee ever did for Mad Magazine! (But only 1964 through 2010; you’ll have to wait until 2058 to get last year’s worth.) That is, you can if you’re willing to drop $79 for the just-published 4-volume hardcover slipcase edition. However it would’ve cost you quite a bit less last night if you bought it at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in downtown Manhattan – and Al, who was on hand would probably have signed it for you. The occasion: a celebration of the book’s release. Read more…
Remember how we heard a while back Darth Maul would be making a return to the Star Wars universe in the CGI animated Clone Wars series? Well it’s happening, and just in time to help promote Episode I in theaters. Oh, Lucasfilm, you clever bunch, you. Given that Darth Maul was pretty cleanly separated from the lower half of his body, one might wonder how exactly you obtain a fresh pair of mechanical legs while, you know, not dying. But those are not the questions you should be asking, yells the marketing director. “Look how cool he is!” Trailer after the break. Read more…
Brave is Pixar’s next big film and certainly one of my most anticipated films of the year. I’m sure many of you are excited as well, and luckily Disney and Pixar are here to supply you with your next look at the film. It’s a great little scene introducing the main character, Merida, and her skills at archery. The setting is great as well – my only gripe with this clip is the juvenile humor. Come on Pixar, you can do better than that and we both know it. Check the clip after the jump! Read more…
Oh Warner Brothers, what are we going to do with you? Not content with the start-and-stop production process of it’s other live-action anime adaptions (namely Akira), the fine folks over at Warner have picked up another property to slowly never make a movie out of: Bleach. The popular and long-running Shonen Jump manga series by Tite Kubo has spawned an equally long anime and many video games, but no live-action films yet. Looks like Warner wants to change that! Read more…
I admit that I haven’t watched a lot of Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time, but I’m not sure why. I’ve only seen a few episodes, but the ones I’ve seen are absolutely hilarious. For me, at least, the art took some getting used to, but the writing is so good that it more than makes up for it. The show itself is often littered with video game references and even the creators are huge gamers themselves, which probably explains why I love this Adventure Time x Legend of Zelda crossover shirt. It’s currently available at TeeFury for the next 24 hours, so head over there if you want to pick one up. The piece itself was designed by artist TeeKetch. If you’d like to see more of his work, you can check out his DiviantArt & RedBubble. Read more…
Prepare to be floored. CGI artist, and Star Wars fan, Francisco Prieto pieced together this amazing stop-motion CGI short. The video shows the brick by brick construction of Lego’s Star Wars Ultimate Collector’s Millennium Falcon set. Each piece was rendered using 3ds max and V-ray software, taking him over three years to complete. I don’t think anyone could expect him to make the perfect video, but the results are impressive and the video really speaks for itself. The set can still be found through online retailers, although it can be pretty expensive — the set is considered a collectors item after all. I hope Francisco decides to do more of these videos, and hopefully we won’t have to wait another three years for the next one.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Feb 22, 2012 in Videogames
I always thought it’d be cool to work on one of Konami’s Metal Gear projects, but until recently that would have been a difficult prospect. Konami always handled production of the series in-house, and since relocating to Japan would have been the first of many hurdles, I never gave it a second thought. Several years ago during his keynote at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Hideo Kojima announced that he was looking to expand his studio, and to embrace western development, and now it looks like he really meant it. Kojima Productions recently posted a recruitment page looking for candidates to work on their next Metal Gear project. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Feb 22, 2012 in Television
Fans of NBC’s Community can finally exhale, the show is set to return to its 8PM slot starting Thursday, March 15th. I know many of you were terrified when the show was suddenly placed on hiatus earlier this year, myself included, but thankfully we won’t have to worry about its cancellation any time soon. NBC is apparently shaking up its line up with 30 Rock moving to 8:30, and Parks & Recreation going on a hiatus of its own. Fortunately, you won’t have to wait on pins and needles for Parks, as it’s scheduled to return April 19th at 9:30, as soon as Up All Night finishes the last of its 24-episode run. They’ll also be launching some new mid-season comedies for Wednesday nights, but none of them really look all that interesting. I’m sad to see Parks & Rec take a breather, but Community to fill that void, I’m sure I’ll learn to live with it. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Feb 21, 2012 in Television
HBO’s at it again, having just posted this little featurette with the cast for the second season of Game of Thrones. Seeing how passionate the actors feel towards the show itself speaks volumes and serves to remind us of how magnificent the show really is. In addition, we get to see some behind-the-scenes footage from the set, as well as a glimpse at some of the new actors who will be joining the cast next season, although none of them were interviewed.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Feb 21, 2012 in Videogames
Foregoing traditional launch tactics, Sony staggered the launch of their PlayStation Vita by offering several different bundles for their new handheld. Having had an opportunity to play several of the launch titles at industry events over the past year, I’ve been dying to pick one up, but with several different bundles available and retailers offering their own deals, deciding which to get and where to shop can be a bit tricky. So, I thought we should probably go over some of the best deals. Read more…
