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Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 22, 2014 in Videogames 
Shantae is one of those cult franchises, a series of games full of great gameplay, solid controls, and beautiful 2D graphics. Many people don’t even know the series exists because the first game had a limited print run on Game Boy Color after the Game Boy Advance had already launched. The second game launched on the DSi’s online shop, which almost no one used. Maybe the third game, Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse, will finally make a bigger splash. Though the titular half-genie has lost her powers in this installment, her pirate skills look fun to use. The game is out this Thursday on 3DS. Unfortunately, the Wii U version has been delayed until later this year, but that’s not too far off, so I can’t be too sad. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Shantae, Wii U
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 22, 2014 in Cinema, Tech 
October 2015 is only a year away, which means one thing: Marty McFly is going to arrive from the past, as depicted in the popular documentary Back to the Future Part II. It seemed as though our history would diverge, since we still don’t have the hoverboards depicted in the movie, but there’s some last-minute hope. The company Arx Pax is seeking Kickstarter funding for the Hendo, their version of a hoverboard, which actually hovers! The catch: it uses magnetic levitation, similar to a bullet train, so it will only work with certain metal floors, like copper or aluminum. It doesn’t propel itself, so you’ll be using your foot like a regular skateboard. Read more…
Tags: Back to the Future
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 21, 2014 in Videogames 
Nintendo, why didn’t you just say this from the start? If you missed signing up for the Pokemon Trainer Club newsletter (or didn’t care to bother), you can still get a code for the 3DS demo for Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. This demo is a unique adventure that lets you catch some new Mega-Evolved Pokemon and items that will transfer to the full game. Nintendo has announced several more ways to get a code. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Nintendo, Pokémon
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 21, 2014 in Animation, Cinema 
Disney and Pixar are quite secretive these days about their upcoming films, considering how much a project can change during development. So it’s good to see them teasing some of their upcoming movies. First off, Disney officially announced Moana for release in late 2016. Set in the South Pacific, this movie sees the titular teenage girl set sail to fulfill her ancestors’ quest. The film is directed by Ron Clements and Jon Musker, best known for The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and The Princess and the Frog. Not to be outdone, Pixar shared a video of director Peter Sohn sketching Arlo, the main character in the upcoming The Good Dinosaur. While Pixar is releasing Inside Out in June 2015, The Good Dinosaur is set for November 2015; it tells the story of a world where dinosaurs continued living and rule the world. Both releases look great! Read more…
Tags: Disney, Pixar
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 20, 2014 in Anime 
It’s time for more Lupin III! A brand new Lupin III series will be coming in 2015 to Japan… and Italy! The series will actually premiere first on Italy’s RTI channel in spring of 2015, then Japan next. It’s still early, so no news yet on where it’ll stream or air in other countries. The story of the series itself will take place in Italy and San Marino, featuring a blue-jacketed Lupin. Veteran director Kazuhide Tomonaga will be the chief director (he’s done incredible work in the past, including the iconic car chase scene in Castle of Cagliostro), Yuichiro Yano will be series director, Yuuya Takahashi will write the scripts, and production will be done by Telecom Animation Film. That’s an impressive staff, so I’m pretty excited about this new series! Read more…
Tags: Lupin the 3rd
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 20, 2014 in Hobbies and Collections 
Moko is one of the best LEGO builders out of Japan — if you follow him on Twitter, you can get some glimpses at his massive collection of parts and pieces. He’s an expert at building mecha, in particular. His latest build is a chibi-styled Gundam with tons of little details and an incredible amount of poseability. Moko also built a varied collection of all the weapons you’d want to see the original Gundam wield. Check out more images below, and if you haven’t seen Moko’s work before, check out his Flickr page with an enormous collection of amazing mecha and anime characters. It’s great stuff! Read more…
Tags: Lego, Mobile Suit Gundam
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 19, 2014 in Cinema 
Most folks know Maisie Williams as Arya in Game of Thrones, but she’s been starting to expand and do more roles. She recently did an interview with Flicks in the City, talking about several projects. One is the long-gestating The Last of Us movie, which has essentially offered up the role of Ellie to Williams freely. Sadly, nothing is set in stone yet, she says. She goes on to talk about a personal project, a superhero series with her in the lead role. It sounds very far off, but she sounds passionate about it: “It was kind of inspired just from walking around Comic-Con and seeing so many woman dressed as all these sexualized female superheroes and just thinking if I was a superhero, I would just want to wear a hoodie and jeans, and taking that and making it into a superhero that isn’t wearing spandex and isn’t a sexy Catwoman or that sort of thing.” Read more…
Tags: Maisie Williams, Superheroes
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 19, 2014 in Cinema 
Guillermo del Toro is now hard at work on Pacific Rim 2, a film many thought might never get made. But movies studios love franchises, and they especially love trilogies, so it’s not surprise that del Toro also confirms that Pacific Rim 2 will segue directly into a Pacific Rim 3 (which is not yet officially confirmed). Talking with Collider, del Toro said, “We got the first draft of the movie now, and we are going to spend another 4-5 months on the screenplay before we start pre-production.” He adds, “Some of your favorite characters come back, some others don’t because we have decided that we’re going to shoot ambitiously and say ‘Let’s hope we have three movies.’ So some characters come in at the end of the second, hoping that it will ramp up on the third one.” Optimistic indeed! Let’s hope it works out. Read more…
Tags: guillermo del toro, Pacific Rim
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 18, 2014 in Animation 
A new Disney film means it’s time for another Disney short too! Big Hero 6 debuts on November 7th, and in front of it there’ll be a new short by Paperman‘s head of animation, Patrick Osborne. This is his first time directing a short, and it looks like it’ll utilize a lot of the skills he put to work in Paperman, including the “Meander” process they use to make give the CGI that unique look. Feast follows an adorable puppy snacking on everything in sight, and the preview gives a peak at him growing up around food, living a happy life with a full belly. I’m not sure where the short will be headed though — will it end up being happy or end of a sadder note? No one better die in this! Read more…
Tags: Disney
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 18, 2014 in Anime, Cinema 
The live-action Ghost in the Shell adaption is moving forward, now that they have a director (Rupert Sanders), producers, and script. Time to start casting! Earlier in the week Margot Robbie (Wolf of Wall Street) was offered the lead role, but it fell through. Dreamworks then extended an offer to Scarlett Johansson, where it now sits. Deadline reports that offer was $10 million, Johansson’s price after her success in Lucy and as Black Widow. Sadly we’re not getting an Asian actress like Rinko Kikuchi, it seems. It’d like to see the script to see how much they’re altering the story and concept. I’m not sure if this could be good, right now. Read more…
Tags: Ghost in the Shell
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 17, 2014 in Tech 
Apple’s latest event wasn’t particularly mind-blowing (for the most part). A new iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 are on the way, both slightly upgraded (iPad Air 2 gets thinner, better specs, and Touch ID while the Mini 3 simply gets the fingerprint sensor). They’re now available in the space grey, gold, and white/silver colors, too. OS X Yosemite has a fair amount of new features, and that is available now for free. But we all expected this. The most interesting news is that the iMac is finally being upgraded to a Retina display: 5K, 5120 x 2880 pixels, leading Apple to proclaim it the “world’s highest resolution display.” It’s pretty impressive! I want to see one in person. Check out some images below and a full rundown from the Verge here. Read more…
Tags: Apple, iPad
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 17, 2014 in Television 
Yes, after a long period of begging, HBO has finally decided to open up HBO Go, its streaming service, to folks other than cable subscribers. Before, you had to have cable service and an HBO subscription before you could stream anything like Game of Thrones or Boardwalk Empire. Now, HBO has announced that in 2015, they’ll have HBO Go head mainstream, allowing anyone to sign up for the monthly service. HBO Go currently costs $15 to $20 for cable subscribers, so I imagine it’ll be a similar price for new customers. Possibly more? Details are scarce, and HBO promises more news in the future. 2015 isn’t too far away! Read more…
Tags: HBO
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 16, 2014 in Videogames 
There are two DLC packs planned for Mario Kart 8, and they’re planned to have some crossover elements from fellow Nintendo series The Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing. Each DLC pack features two new cups, four new vehicles, and three new playable characters, one of which is Link. He’ll be in the first DLC pack due November 2014, along with this newly-revealed motorcycle called the Master Cycle. It’s blue like the hilt of the Master Sword, and also looks like a horse. Nintendo humorously notes that this vehicle “has plenty of horse power.” This is such a cool thing to see that I’m going to let that horrible pun slide. Read more…
Tags: Legend of Zelda, Mario Kart, Nintendo, Wii U
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 16, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Well, at least WB and DC are getting serious about competing with Disney and Marvel. WB has confirmed all the upcoming pieces of their shared superhero universe that started with Man of Steel in 2013. 2016 will see two movies: the already-known Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice (directed by Zack Snyder), and then a Suicide Squad movie (directed by David Ayer) about a team of villains who do dangerous work for the government. Then, 2017 will see a stand-alone Wonder Woman movie (starring Gal Gadot, who will be introduced in BVS:DoJ) followed by the inevitable Justice League movie (which will see all the heroes team up). But the schedule doesn’t stop there. Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 15, 2014 in Videogames 
I’ll admit, I was done with South Park for a while. The humor just wasn’t working for me any more. But I decided to play South Park: The Stick of Truth for the hell of it. The game turned out to be really funny, so I checked out the newest season, which has turned out to be amazing, so I guess I’m a fan again. And because of that, I feel compelled to share the news of two South Park tables coming to Zen Pinball (or Pinball FX if you’re playing on Xbox). The tables consist of South Park: Super-Sweet Pinball and Butters’ Very Own Pinball Game, because Butters is awesome. You can get them on consoles and PC later this week for $4.99. Mobile versions will cost $3.99 as an app, or $1.99 per table to add them to Zen Pinball. My only disappointment is that the first table isn’t a recreation of the real-life pinball table, to which I’ve lost far too much money over the years. Read more…
Tags: Pinball, South Park
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 15, 2014 in Videogames 
The good news: Nintendo is finally putting out demos for some of its biggest games. The bad news: not only are these generally restricted to a certain number of uses, but sometimes they’ll make you jump through hoops to try things out. Chances are you already know if you’re interested in Pokemon Omega Ruby and Pokemon Alpha Sapphire; after all, they’re remakes of the third generation, the point by which the overall formula had pretty much been figured out. But if you’re on the fence, here’s what you need to do to get a demo. By October 20, go to Pokemon.com and sign up for a Pokemon Trainer Club account (which you likely already have if you use online features). Then, make sure you’ve opted in to marketing emails, and they’ll send out codes in their next Pokemon newsletter. It’s pretty simple, but still more complicated than just making the demo available to everyone. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Nintendo, Pokémon
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 14, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Let’s start with the facts, because this is going to turn into speculation quickly. According to Variety, Robert Downey Jr. is in final negotiations to play Tony Stark (Iron Man) in Captain America 3, due out on May 6, 2016. Though currently only contracted for one more Avengers film — The Avengers: Age of Ultron has finished filming and will release May 1, 2015 — Downey had previously stated that he was in negotiations for further Marvel movies, which seemed to be Iron Man 4. While that may still happen, this movie could be what was being referred to. While this was initially supposed to be a small role, Downey asked for a bigger role, which angered Marvel Entertainment chief Ike Perlmutter. Though Stark was almost entirely written out, it seems this was resolved by Marvel mastermind Kevin Feige. But that’s not even the most interesting news. Read more…
Tags: captain america, Iron Man, Marvel
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 14, 2014 in Cinema, Star Wars 
Maybe you’ve heard of Star Wars Uncut, the 2012 project that split the movie up into 15-second clips, allowed fans to pick a clip to remake however they liked, and then cut it back together into a full-length movie. Disjointed? Yes. Fun? Totally. Well, Star Wars is well and good, but every true fan knows that The Empire Strikes Back is where it’s at. Hence, the team has finally released Empire Uncut, using the same premise as the first movie. 480 fans worked on this two hour movie, which you can watch below. But if you don’t have the time, at least check out the trailer to see what they were going for. Read more…
Tags: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 13, 2014 in Comic Books, Television 
The Daredevil Netflix series will be coming out next year, and at NYCC 2014 we got our first look at his costume, above. It’s mostly cloth, rather than the rubber or featuring the padding most of Marvel’s other heroes have gotten, and it’s heavily inspired by his outfit in Man Without Fear. It’s fairly Zorro-esque! Man Without Fear is apparently also a big story influence on this series, according to the series creators. All in all, it looks like they’re steering the series in the right direction, so with any luck it’ll turn Check out a description of the teaser trailer that was shown here. Read more…
Tags: Daredevil, Marvel, Netflix
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 13, 2014 in Videogames 
Citizen Con 2014 happened recently — yes, a con for Star Citizen — and they debuted new footage from the game, featuring a pilot flying in space all the way down to a planet’s surface. Chris Roberts shows off the ship, then demonstrates flying down through the atmosphere to a landing platform. He even goes through customs! They also show some of the shops and stores, albeit in a very limited fashion. You can definitely see the ambition, and I continue to hope that the full game pays off. (If the video footage below is a little choppy, that’s actually due to the recording software, not the game.) Read more…
Tags: Star Citizen
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 12, 2014 in Videogames 
Continuing with their new mission of adding bizarre and unique characters to LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, WB announced at NYCC that Duck Dodgers would be joining the playable cast, along with Conan O’Brien and Jim Lee. Yeah, that Jim Lee. I am definitely curious how this whole shtick will play out in the end. It’s a great news bit to say “Hey, look at these crazy characters in our game!” but will it end up actually meaning anything to the final game? Next year will people be talking about how great it was to play as Duck Dodgers or Conan? I don’t know! Check out more images below! Read more…
Tags: Batman, Lego
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 12, 2014 in Animation, Comic Books 
Back at San Diego Comic-Con we heard that the Guardians of the Galaxy would be getting an animated TV show on Disney XD. All it takes is one blockbuster and suddenly a crew who were referred to as “Who?” are now getting a sequel and spin-offs galore! This new animated series will be taking off in 2015, and Marvel released the SDCC test footage online at New York Comic-Con, along with the first art for the TV show. Thanos will also apparently feature in the show, along with other characters, as part of Marvel’s growing universe. Check out the full poster and test footage below the jump. Read more…
Tags: Guardians of the Galaxy
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 11, 2014 in Videogames 
Phoenix Wright and crew will be returning to the Nintendo 3DS this winter. We had heard about the updated trilogy a while ago, which will include the first three games in the Ace Attorney series, remastered with updated visuals; but now we’ve got a release date: December 9th in the US and December 11th in Europe. In case you’re wondering, this also includes the bonus case that was added to the first game. The trilogy will be available exclusively on the eShop, which seems to be Capcom’s favorite way to release the Ace Attorney games these days. It’ll run you $29.99, and if you haven’t played them yet, this is a great way to experience these three classic games. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 11, 2014 in Cinema, Hobbies and Collections 
Yes, Warner Bros. is taking notice of how much you all loved Batman in the LEGO Movie, and are fast-tracking a LEGO Batman movie. Chris McKay, the animation supervisor on The LEGO Movie, was previously slated to direct the sequel, but now has been switched over to the Batman film. In fact, it appears that the Batman movie will take the 2017 release date of the LEGO Movie sequel entirely, pushing the latter back to another year. Will Arnett is also returning to voice Batman. This means that Will Arnett will get a solo Batman film before even Ben Affleck. Neato! Read more…
Tags: Batman, Lego, The LEGO Movie
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