The last G.I. Joe film was poor, in my opinion. It tried to run with the concept to seriously, which thankfully, the sequel doesn’t do. Instead, it embraces the silliness inherent in G.I. Joe and goes full-blast into the hectic action and crazy battles. I’m actually interested in Retaliation (although, as a silly action film, but there’s nothing wrong with that). Check out this latest trailer – it shows off the crazy stunts and ridiculous story – and who doesn’t want to see The Rock and Bruce Willis kick butt together?
I like Ridley Scott. I like his films. Apparently, these actors love Ridley too. A lot. Of course, it’s just how the featurette is cut, I’m sure, but the real news here is the excellent look at the sets and process behind Prometheus, Ridley’s latest sci-fi film. I’ve always admired Ridley’s desire to stick with traditional sets. Building the environments for the actors to actually move around in helps a great deal in enhancing the believability of a film. I’m interested in seeing how it all pans out when the film finally releases on June 8th.
I know a lot of you have been interested in Valve’s teasing of a map creation tool for their ace 2011 first-person puzzler, Portal 2. It was one of my favorite games to come out last year, so more free downloadable content is always welcome. Valve has officially announced the “Portal 2 Perpetual Testing Initiative” which will allow players to create and share their custom-made maps. You’ll be able to easily pull new levels from the Steam Workshop – with a single click it’ll be added to the game next time you start it. Read more…
There’s a really sad article by George Colony which assumes that with the death of Steve Jobs that Apple will follow the fate of companies like Sony and Disney and fade out into oblivion. While I agree that nothing lasts forever, it’s also important to note that nothing is certain: And thus I give the example of the company that Steve Jobs hated in his youth — IBM. Read more…
Forget trying to stitch together the perfect panorama using Microsoft’s Photosynth — in theory, it’s a neat idea but in practice, not really. Instead, try something new. Introducing Dot, the first panoramic video lens for your iPhone 4 and 4s. So, how does it work exactly? You just snap it on over your phone’s camera, download the app and begin shooting 360° videos on the spot. Not only that, but the app also allows you to control the direction of the camera yourself or swap over to a panoramic widescreen mode. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 26, 2012 in Tech, Videogames
So what you’re looking at above is the Sony PSP — right? Wrong! It’s the JXD V5200 which is of course powered by Android, the preferred OS of uninspired industrial designers. Although I have to admit that there is something cool about ripping off poor ignored Sony, and I can only hope that duo screen faux Nintendo DS comes next. Although if you’re an old school Nintendo fanboy check out the JDX 100 which reminds me slightly of a Game Boy from back in the day: Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Apr 25, 2012 in Comic Books
Those of you planning on seeing The Avengers in theaters this May are in for another small treat. It was recently revealed that a brand new trailer for Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises will be attached to the film. I’m not usually excited about new trailers, as they often delay the start of a film by up to fifteen minutes, not to mention having to put up with comments from everyone else in the audience, but the previous trailers for this film have me craving a bit more. Perhaps its because so little about the film has actually been revealed through them. Sure there’s plenty of information out there to fill the holes, but if you’ve been avoiding that, then maybe this trailer will have you just as excited. Read more…
Shown below is an amazing commercial from the 70s for the Xerox Alto: This amazing computer was first released in 1973 and featured all the cool features we associate with the PC today like a graphic user interface, a mouse and desktop publishing. While the the computer was a commercial failure, it went on to inspire the Macintosh in the the 80s and Windows in the 90s. Read more…
Here’s an exciting bit of breaking news for Resident Evil fans. Series creator, and grandfather of the survival horror genre, Shinji Mikami announced a new horror game this morning. Codenamed “Zwei,” the game is to be developed by Mikami’s new studio, Tango Gameworks. Those of you who may recall, his last entry in the Resident Evil series, Resident Evil 4, has been the most successful and critically acclaimed to date. If you’re wondering why he’s no longer with the company, Mikami had been transferred to Capcom’s Clover studio prior to its dissolution following the release of the not-so-successful cult-favorite God Hand. He then worked briefly for Platinum Games, the studio responsible for Bayonetta and Vanquish, before leaving to create Tango Gameworks. There’s no other details to note, other than the game is in the early stages of development and that his studio was acquired by Zenimax, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks back in 2010. For the sake of the genre, let’s hope his latest foray into the world of survival horror is as successful as his last.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Apr 24, 2012 in Dr. Who, Fandom
No, it isn’t a Doctor Who x Space Jam mash-up — I’d kill to hear one — instead, it’s the latest Doctor Who-themed shirt to hit TeeFury. With the team’s name emblazoned across the chest and a spiffy silhouette of what appears to be a sonic screwdriver-wielding David Tennant in place of the usual NBA logo, nobody will question your loyalty to our favorite team. Like most every shirt featured on TeeFury, it’ll only be available for the rest of the day and comes in both men and women’s sizes for only $10 plus shipping.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Apr 24, 2012 in Videogames
It’s either insane, or absolutely brilliant. Valve has always taken an unconventional approach to game development, but I’ve never known how unconventional — at least, until now. Recently a copy of their employee handbook leaked online, and while I can’t imagine they were pleased about it happening, what’s done is done. The 56 page 2012 New Employee Handbook details the companies internal practices, internal structure (or lack thereof) and comes littered with hilarious diagrams and in-jokes many of which relate to the various games they’ve released over the years.
Just the other week, I mentioned the unabridged 20th anniversary recording of Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire — the novel often heralded for having launched Star Wars’ expanded universe. It was first novel in its trilogy, set five years after Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Although was LucasBooks was nice enough to publish the 20th anniversary edition of Heir to the Empire late last year, there are currently no plans to do the same for either of its sequels Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command. Thankfully, not all is lost! Read more…
Having read all George Martin’s on-going saga A Song of Ice and Fire, as well as having seen every episode of HBO’s Game of Thrones to date, I feel one aspect that remains consistently featured throughout would be the food. Martin often takes his time writing detailed descriptions of Westerosi cuisine, from their aromas to the taste itself. So, naturally Bantam has decided to use those descriptions to help craft A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook, in what I can only guess as being a sad attempt to cash in on the Game of Thrones-craze. That said, I really wouldn’t mind taking a look at some of the recipes included in the book. Martin certainly makes them sound appetizing enough when you’re reading his novels, so I would hope the authors & chefs involved could succeed in capturing the taste. A Feast of Ice and Fire should hit shelves May 29th and will retail for $35.
God of War is back in prequel form with God of War: Ascension for PS3 – and Kratos still seems kind of pissed. According to the trailer, this game will take place before the events of the original trilogy, possibly when Kratos was serving under Ares. Of course, like any announcement trailer, there’s no gameplay and it’s all CGI. I wonder, though, do we need another God of War game? Probably not, but I suppose the demand is there. I hope they’ll spice things up a bit and try some new things with the series this time around!
Yesterday, Nintendo announced that the 3DS will be receiving a sequel to New Super Mario Bros., the best-selling DS title (and a Wii sequel that also sold gangbusters). New Super Mario Bros. 2 will arrive in August worldwide, and it looks like more of the same old Mario. The NSMB line of games have always been great, although I feel the art style isn’t nearly as solid as Super Mario Galaxy’s. But for you fans of older Mario games, the P-meter is back, as well as the Raccoon Tail and bolted blocks. And I must say, that logo is rather eye-catching – I like it! Read more…
Is winter coming? Watch plastic bleed as HDMprojects on YouTube recreates the Game of Thrones Season 1 trailer with Playmobil figures in one of the cutest renditions of Game of Thrones I’ve seen in a while. It’s probably just because they’re all smiling the whole time – endearing, or just creepy? It’s also surprisingly accurate, all the way down to the lighting and environments. The real question is, though, would you re-watch the whole series like this? Read more…
Wanted to get some of the Diablo 3 beta action but haven’t gotten in yet? Well, your good buddies at Blizzard are opening up the floodgates and letting everyone play the beta this weekend, until Monday, April 23rd at 10am PDT. You can play as five classes and up to level 13, according to the official blog. It’s mostly just a stress-test to see how the servers handle the load of new players (so it may be up or down sometimes), but hey, why complain when you can test the game for free? Start downloading here! Read more…
Consider this another bizarre cross-promotion from Japan. Sega had previously featured model Yukie Kawamura in their Japanese advertisements, apparently with much success, because they’re bring her back, but this time as a Super Monkey Ball Vita map. Now you can roll down Yukie’s face, beside her image plastered on the skybox, and down her… breasts? This is just silly, especially given how amateur the map looks – it’s as though all they did was a quick texture-swap and called it a day. How bizarre! Watch out for some mildly questionable images below. Read more…
Bethesda recently released a new trailer for Dishonored, their latest action game. It’s a first-person shooter, but you also have magic and technical abilities at your disposal, similar to Bioshock’s setup. The game will allow you to sneak up on enemies and eliminate them stealthily or simply run-and-gun everyone down. Although, a lot of games promise this level of choice, but don’t always fulfill it, so let’s hope Dishonored does. Apparently Half-Life 2’s art director is working on it, and you can definitely see some similarities. So: this looks great – now how about some actual gameplay? Read more…
There’s nothing I hate more than someone who spoils a film for me, but for some reason Mavel seems intent on doing just that. The Avengers won’t even hit theaters nationwide until May 4th, but every day leading up to that will undoubtedly prove a significant challenge. Just today I received an e-mail from Marvel offering an exclusive clip from the film and asking me to pre-order the soundtrack. Clips have been pooping up on Facebook, and movie blogs since screenings of the film began earlier this month, and just this week they’ve launched an entirely new set of commercials with even more footage than before. Read more…
Beware the Batman, more like beware the bad voice acting, right? Here’s a teaser for Cartoon Network’s next animated Batman series, Beware the Batman. I have to admit, it seemed promising until I heard the voice over. Making an animated Batman series without Kevin Conroy as the voice of Bruce Wayne/Batman just seems wrong. Of all the actors to ever voice the role of our Caped Crusader, Conroy’s performance remains unrivaled — an opinion that seems to be shared amongst fans. Voice acting aside, we’ll have to wait to see if the rest of the show lives up to its potential. A few story elements are being shuffled around — Alfred, for example, will be a gun-toting ex-secret agent while Katana, a member of the outsiders, will serve as his new sidekick in lieu of Robin. How any of that is suppose to make the series better is beyond me, so don’t ask. Beware the Batman premieres next year.
It can be hard for Whovians having to wait for the next series of Doctor Who to start. With the season premiere still months away, you’ll probably need something to pass the time. While you’ve probably watched every episode on Netflix or Amazon’s instant video service, we tend to overlook the numerous novels, audiobooks, and radio dramas the BBC churns out on a regular basis. I’m sure some of you might not have known about the plethora of content available via Amazon or Audible, but there’s quite a bit of it t0 choose from, and fans of The Doctor both past and present will likely find a fair share of adventures starring their favorite incarnation of the Time Lord. One word of advice however, keep in mind the intended audience of these stories can vary from children to adults, so make sure to read the reviews before you spend your cash.
Remember these? Last May we posted a video for Nuerowear’s mind-controlled fashion accessory “necomimi” — or cat ears. That right, they’re a pair of car ears you can control with a thought. Until now, they haven’t been made available for sale. The first batch will go on sale at the Nico Nico Super Conference being held in Chiba later this month for just 7,900 yen — that’s about $100 a pair. Of course, that’s a special price just for the event. They’ll actually retail for about $112 after that. I still can’t imagine anyone wanting to sport a pair of these on a daily basis, but once again, I’m sure they’d make for a fantastic addition to any cat-girl cosplay. Read more…
