|
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 3, 2014 in Tech, Television, Videogames 
As rumored, Amazon has been working on a set-top box that will stream video and play videogames. Now they’ve announced the Amazon FireTV, which does that! The box uses a quad-core 1.7 GHz CPU, dedicated GPU, 2GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, and a dual-band wireless radio with two antennas (for streaming 1080p over WiFi) to try to outperform Apple TV and Roku. Naturally, it has access to Amazon Prime, but there are all the usual video and music streaming apps, plus more specialized ones like Twitch and WWE; users can compare prices between various apps to see where it’s cheapest to watch a movie. The remote is also special, with a microphone included that allows you to search content with your voice. Or you could use Amazon’s bells and whistles to have it predict and cue up what it thinks you want to watch.
Read more…
Tags: Amazon
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 2, 2014 in Videogames 
Since Telltale Games is making both The Walking Dead: Season Two and The Wolf Among Us at the same time (with even more episodic adventure games in the works), it’s understandable that both releases are a bit slower than fans would like. So when I see a “launch trailer” for the third episode of The Wolf Among Us, I understand that the game probably isn’t releasing this week, much less has a release date. Still, it looks like things are heating up in the story, with this episode landing right in the middle. I’m dying to see where this mystery goes, but for now, I’ll have to settle for this trailer. Read more…
Tags: Fables, Telltale Games, The Wolf Among Us
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 2, 2014 in Videogames 
Half-Minute Hero was a fun PSP game (that later came to PC) giving the player “30 seconds” to save the world, though in-game mechanics allowed you to continually roll back time. Later unlockable modes let you play as an Evil Lord, Princess, or Knight with new gameplay styles. Like many unique ideas, it didn’t sell that well, seemingly dooming the sequel to remain in Japan. But luckily, Marvelous AQL has announced that they’re bringing Half-Minute Hero: The Second Coming to Steam on April 4. Here’s where the info gets murky. Because yesterday was April Fool’s Day, the info provided about the game seems fishy. Marvelous claims the game will support the Oculus Rift (which seems unlikely) and that the game will cost $999.99 on Steam — though owners of the first game will get 25% off. If the game is coming out on Friday, I’d expect the price to be much, much lower. Either way, check it out! Read more…
Tags: RPG, Steam
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 1, 2014 in Videogames 
It’s taken long enough, but I guess that’s typical for Virtual Console releases these days. Capcom has confirmed that they will release six Mega Man Game Boy games on the 3DS Virtual Console in May — a “Mega May,” according to Capcom. The first Mega Man Game Boy game is already available, but I guess this is the remaining ones: Mega Man II through Mega Man V (the latter of which isn’t just a remix of NES levels), plus the two Mega Man Xtreme games based on Mega Man X (the letter, not a tenth installment, since things could get confusing with the Game Boy games using roman numerals). The games will all be released in one month, but fans can vote on Capcom Unity to decide what game will be released first. Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with just going in release order; they’re all going to be out by the end of the month. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Capcom, Mega Man
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 1, 2014 in Tech, Videogames 
Two years ago, Google gave Google Maps a temporary 8-bit facelift, remaking the map in the style of Dragon Quest (or Dragon Warrior as it was called in America) on the original NES in honor of April Fool’s Day. It seems they’ve still got games in the mind, because this year’s April Fool’s Day “prank” has scattered pokemon all over the world. Reports are claiming there are at least 150 pokemon to find, with Google promising that the first person to find all of them will be hired as a Pokemon Master. While I doubt that, there might be some reward for finding them all first, so download the app on your iOS or Android phone — you can’t find them on a computer — and get started on catching ’em all! Read more…
Tags: April Fools, Google, Pokémon
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 31, 2014 in Cinema 
You may have heard the mo-cap extraordinaire Andy Serkis, famous for his work as Gollum and King Kong, would be making the jump to the director’s chair. He’ll be doing the Jungle Book for Warner Bros. (and Jon Favreau is doing one too… for Disney), and rather than take a family-friendly approach, it sounds like he wants to be a bit more realistic and faithful to the book. He said, “What I love about the screen adaptation by Steve and Callie Kloves is it’s very truthful to the original book; it doesn’t shy away from its darkness.” I’ll be interested to see how it turns out, especially given Serkis’ expertise with making CGI animals appear as realistic as possible. It could be neat! Read more…
Tags: Andy Serkis, Jungle Book
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 31, 2014 in Videogames 
Animal Cross: New Leaf has been one of the most successful games on the Nintendo 3DS. Many chalk it up to the fact that people just like games that are slower-paced and allow you to customize everything, but Nintendo recently revealed the truth behind it at GDC: diversity. Half of the development team was made up of women, an anomaly in the game development industry. Aya Kyogoku, the woman in charge of directing New Leaf, said that it opens “you up to hearing a greater variety of ideas and sharing a greater diversity of ideas.” The full Wired interview with the team is incredibly fascinating, so I highly advise you check it out. Read more…
Tags: Animal Crossing, Nintendo
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 30, 2014 in Videogames 
Goat Simulator was originally just a joke — a silly video put out by Coffee Stain Studios while they were fooling around. But when the internet got a hold of it, they demanded more. They asked for it to be real. So, on April 1st, you’ll be able to buy Goat Simulator, weird glitches and all. Yup, they’re not fixing it up or polishing it, they’re just releasing it as is. The features list states there are “MILLIONS OF BUGS! We’re only eliminating the crash-bugs, everything else is hilarious and we’re keeping it.” They’ve hidden a lot of easter eggs in it, too. You can start playing it right now by pre-ordering it on their official site (it’ll then download through Steam). Also, below the jump, I’ve included the launch trailer for the game, which parodies Dead Island’s reveal trailer. Read more…
Tags: Goat Simulator
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 30, 2014 in Videogames 
I’m overly optimistic, perhaps. After years of bad Alien games, I keep hoping, beyond all reason, that the next one will be good. Creative Assembly’s upcoming Alien: Isolation looks to be doing a lot of things right: there’s only one alien, you have to be sneaky, there’s no modern technology (it all abides by the original film’s standards), and your main item is a motion detector. All the pieces are there, but it remains to be seen if they come together well. I really hope it does, because I want a good Alien game… so bad. CA announced that the game will arrive October 7th, later this year, so I’ll report back then. Let’s hope we’re not disappointed! Read more…
Tags: Alien
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 29, 2014 in Hobbies and Collections 
A lot of fans were drooling over the LEGO Simpsons house, but couldn’t justify the high price tag. I’ve got good news though: if you’re just looking to jump in for cheap, you’ll soon be able to pick up some blind-bagged LEGO Simpsons minifigures! These figures are different from the ones in the house model, and includes other additional figures as well. The full list is: Krusty the Clown, Itchy, Homer Simpson, Grampa, Ralph Wiggum, Chief Wiggum, Scratchy, Nelson Muntz, Marge Simpson, Milhouse, Maggie Simpson, Lisa Simpson, Ned Flanders, Bart Simpson, Mr. Burns, and Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. These will be available in May, and I imagine it’ll be easier to feel out which one is in which bag due to their unique head shapes. Check out the full gallery here. Read more…
Tags: Lego, The Simpsons
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 29, 2014 in Tech 
Everyone was surprised by Facebook buying Oculus VR earlier this week. It seemed like an odd fit, and many people were incensed by the acquisition, but my opinion on it is as follows: Facebook might not be the best fit, but Oculus needed money — badly. So far, Facebook has let their last two acquisitions, Instagram and WhatsApp, operate on their own, so I believe we can expect similarly of Oculus. As part of their new budget, Oculus has hired Valve’s Michael Abrash, a pioneer of the VR movement and creator behind Valve’s VR tech demo that got so much press. At Oculus, he’ll be reuniting with his old pal John Carmack to build Oculus up. Let’s hope it all goes well! Read more…
Tags: Facebook, oculus rift, Valve, Virtual Reality
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 28, 2014 in Television 
Community always does great references that actually are clever and unique. So today, they’re spoiling one by posting their G.I. Joe PSA parody from the upcoming G.I. Joe-themed episode. I’ve always enjoyed their animated bits — or any joke where they use something other than live-action — and this one is no exception. Pay attention to their code names, they’re pretty good. The only thing: are we going to see parodies of the internet classic Fensler Films version next? Now that would be amazing. Body massage! Read more…
Tags: Community, G.I. Joe
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 28, 2014 in Cinema 
At long last, fans can watch the trailer for Michael Bay’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, and either assuage or confirm their fears about the film. Probably “confirm.” Even though this film is advertised as a Michael Bay film, it’s actually directed by Jonathan Liebesman. I don’t know if having his name eclipsed by Bay’s is either a good thing or a bad thing. The turtles appear to have some good effects behind them, but the thing that’s unsettling everyone is their faces. Those lips and the nose are a little too… prominent. Check out the trailer below. Read more…
Tags: Michael Bay, Teenage Ninja Turtles
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 27, 2014 in Videogames 
Opinion is currently split on backwards compatibility, or the ability to play games from previous consoles on a new console. On one hand, it’s great to not need older consoles to play your favorite games, letting gamers sell their old systems for some extra cash and free up space under their TV; it ensures that we don’t lose the ability to play generations worth of games, something movies haven’t had to worry about as much. On the other hand, including old chips isn’t cost-effective, and emulating them is very difficult due to their complicated architecture; plus, backwards compatibility is only a strong selling point for the first year of a console’s life, when game choices are limited. It’s a real shame that the PS4 can’t play any previous games, but it’s understandable. But that may soon change. Read more…
Tags: PS2, PS4, Sony
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 27, 2014 in Cinema 
As much as I love realistic sci-fi or gritty sci-fi or hard sci-fi, I can’t deny that I’m growing a little tired of it. One reason the original Star Wars trilogy always resonated with me was because it wasn’t quite science fiction, but more science fantasy. Now that I’m older and don’t feel as insecure about whether or not my entertainment choices are “legitimate” enough for non-geeks, I’ve started hungering for sci-fi with pulp sensibilities, or sci-fi that’s just plain weird. I want to see more sci-fi where no one worries about whether or not the alien kingdoms or advanced technology could plausibly exist in real life if we only had some unobtanium. So I’m really liking that Hollywood is putting out more sci-fi that’s “out there”; off the top of my head, this summer offers both Guardians of the Galaxy (which is also a superhero movie) and Jupiter Ascending. And while either film could be a mess, just watch the first full-length trailer for the latest from the Wachowskis and tell me that doesn’t look like a grand adventure. We’ve had enough grim sci-fi like Elysium recently (putting aside the fact that it was a horrible movie and disappointed compared to District 9) — let’s have something really wild and fun. Read more…
Tags: Jupiter Ascending, Sci-Fi, the Wachowskis
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 26, 2014 in Videogames 
After several years, Sega finally released a Hatsune Miku PS3 game in North America and Europe last year, with a Vita version released just this month. Apparently Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F did well enough that they’re bringing over the sequel — also on PS3 and Vita — to both territories this fall. Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd will continue the music series, which has players pressing buttons in time with music made using Vocaloid voice-synth software, specifically the most popular version featuring virtual idol Hatsune Miku. I wouldn’t say that it’s my favorite music game, but I put a decent amount of time into the original Japan-only PSP game, and it’s pretty fun. Whether you enjoy this comes down to whether or not you enjoy the 40 new songs and returning favorites, but it’s worth trying out if you get chance. Read more…
Tags: Hatsune Miku, Playstation Vita, PS3
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 26, 2014 in Tech, Videogames 
In an unexpected move, Facebook has announced their plans to buy Oculus VR, the company making the Kickstarter-ed Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. Facebook is paying out around $2 billion, which includes $400 million and 23.1 million Facebook shares, with another $300 million tied to undisclosed milestones. The partnership seems completely random, but Facebook and Oculus VR reason that this is another step in connecting people. After games, the plan is to expand the technology into other areas, like getting ring-side seats at a sports game, consulting with a doctor, and going to school. Read more…
Tags: Facebook, oculus rift, Virtual Reality
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 25, 2014 in Comic Books 
After over a year, Marvel is about to wrap up The Superior Spider-Man, the storyline where a reformed Doc Ock’s mind is in Spider-Man’s body. Peter Parker is coming back in The Amazing Spider-Man #1, but what will be waiting for him? Pretty much every Spider-Man ever created, apparently. The next story will be Spider-Verse, and it will be pulling in “every” Spider-Man from across multiple universes. I say “every” because there are a few rights issues preventing characters like Spider-Boy (a DC crossover) and Spectacular Spider-Man (because Sony co-owns the cartoon of the same name). But otherwise, you’ve got them all! And apparently Morlun, one of Spider-Man’s deadliest foes, is back from the dead, which can’t be good for any Spider-Man. If you want more hints as to what may happen, check out the Free Comic Book Day issue, because there will be a five-page back-up story. Read more…
Tags: Spider-man
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 25, 2014 in Videogames 
Microsoft often sets up Xbox Live events where gamers can play with various celebrities. With that context in place, it’s easy to see how impressionable people might think an Obama impersonator is actually the real deal, even if there’s no way the president would take the time to play himself. That’s what happens in this collection of videos: a damn good Obama impersonator plays Titanfall in character, promoting the Affordable Care Act and cracking political jokes. His voice isn’t a perfect match, but he has Obama’s inflections down, so I’d imagine this sounded pretty convincing when compressed over an Xbox headset. So does this mean Obama has reversed his position on gun control? Read more…
Tags: Barack Obama, Titanfall, Xbox One
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 24, 2014 in Hobbies and Collections 
Marketing companies are catching onto the LEGO craze! Even Kit Kat wants to… break a piece… off of that LEGO cash pile. Or something like that! Yes, some LEGO fans at Kit Kat put together a larger-than-life version of a Kit Kat bar, wrapper and all. In a nice twist, they hid extra minifigs inside the bars, and included extra designs that they came up with using the same pieces, just like real LEGO sets. They also made an official-looking box, just to make internet denizens think it’s a real set! Take a look at a few images below, then check out the whole gallery here. Read more…
Tags: Candy, Lego
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 24, 2014 in Videogames 
Earlier, some screenshots and a logo for the next Assassin’s Creed game leaked. The game, titled Unity, features the new setting, this time in Paris during the French Revolution. According to Ubisoft, they’ve been working on this game for roughly three years, so this time it’ll be even better! Right?! Unity will also be exclusive to next gen systems, aka PC, Xbox One, and PS4. Reportedly, there will also be another Assassin’s Creed game released on 360 and PS3, but no word from Ubisoft on that one just yet. We’ll hear more at E3. Check out the teaser below! Read more…
Tags: Assassin's Creed
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 23, 2014 in Videogames 
We’d been hearing for a while about Valve’s long in-production documentary about the first Dota 2 tournament, called The International. They had beta-tested the film (yes, really) by screening it early to people and using their feedback to fix it up. Now, it’s finally available to watch, and it is of course free. To play. Yup. You can watch it on Steam or YouTube, and it runs about an hour and 15 minutes. It’s impressive to watch all the effort these players put into the game, and also the rise of esports in general. I’m really interested in taking the time to watch it later. Check it out! Read more…
Tags: documentary, Dota 2, esports, Valve
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 23, 2014 in Fandom 
A lot of us probably remember being inundated with edutainment commercials in the 90s. It seemed like parents were always being sold something to teach their kids something new, and Muzzy was a big one. The cartoon character was used to teach languages, and while I never actually saw any Muzzy tapes, I did see plenty of commercials. Nacho Punch put together a cute little video that features Muzzy… err… Khal Drogo teaching kids how to speak Dothraki. They even have a Hodor version! Man, they think of everything. Read more…
Tags: Game of Thrones
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 22, 2014 in Videogames 
GDC brought a lot of big announcements, but one of the things I was most interested in seeing was new footage of Hyper Light Drifter. Thankfully, Polygon sat down with the developers of the game and got a nearly 18-minute video featuring footage of the game and dialogue about the game and its features. The animations and art look really impressive despite not being final, which bodes well for the final game. So far it looks like it’ll be exactly the kind of game I want to play. Check out the full video below for some neat footage. Read more…
Tags: Hyper Light Drifter, Indie Games
|
|
