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Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 10, 2012 in Star Wars, Videogames 
Have you ever wanted to see the Mos Eisley Cantina scene re-enacted with the various feathered characters from Angry Birds? No? Why are you backing away nervously? Are you sure you don’t want to see? It’s not that bad, I promise! Well, maybe. Angry Birds Star Wars is out on every mobile platform now, basically, so this animated video has been released to promote it. There’s not much to say – it’s an angrier, featherier version of the Cantina. But I wonder who this will sell on the game? Read more…
Tags: Angry Birds
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 10, 2012 in Cinema 
I really enjoyed the book World War Z, by Max Brooks, so when I heard it got optioned for a movie, I was interested. However, it spent so much time in development hell and so many changes seemed to be happening, I was worried. Not all movies can be exactly like the book, though, so I tried to remain optimistic. The trailer is finally out now, and it seems all my hope was in vain. The zombies roll around in a huge mass, clobbering busses and climbing walls, and the main character seems to have become a bit of an action hero. Not an interview in sight! Read more…
Tags: Brad Pitt, World War Z
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 9, 2012 in Science 
Science and technology are awesome. Don’t believe me? You’re on the wrong site, partner. But check out this: a video of the world’s most advanced prosthetic limb. Nigel Ackland shows off his recent lower-arm replacement that is quite frankly, one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a long while, and shows how far we’ve come with prosthetic limbs. It’s so precise he can type, pour a bottle with ease, or even peel vegetables. And it reminds me of Adam Jensen’s robot arm from Deus Ex: Human Revolution in its simple, elegant design and dark coloring. Read more…
Tags: Deus Ex, technology
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 9, 2012 in Videogames 
The long-titled and frequently-compared-to-Smash Bros. game, Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, has finally gone gold. To celebrate, they’ve released the intro trailer for the game, so you can see exactly what you’ll see when you start the game up. Pay attention at the end, and you’ll get a glimpse of the final boss too! Can you guess who the shadowy character is? I’ll give you a hint: it’s a former mascot for Sony in the US. Read more…
Tags: PlayStation 3, Sony
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 5, 2012 in Hobbies and Collections, Videogames 
Looking for the perfect figure to top off your Pokemon collection? Well if you weren’t, you are now. This new figure from D-Arts of Mewtwo is.. well… awesome. It’s got a ridiculous amount of articulation and in general looks solid. He comes with a projectile, a Pokemon stand, and if you pre-order in the first wave, a small figure of Mew will come included as well. Sadly, it looks like he’s sold out at most of the usual haunts online, but if you keep an eye out you might be able to catch one. Mewtwo releases in March for ¥3,990. Read more…
Tags: Action Figures, Pokémon
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 5, 2012 in Videogames 
Interested in checking out a new trailer for the upcoming Wii U game from Hideki Kamiya, The Wonderful 101? It’s one of the best-looking games coming out for the system, in my view. It features a bunch of colorful superhero characters (who might remind you a bit of Viewtiful Joe) that team up to fight an alien menace. And we do mean ‘team up.’ The collective combines into a giant sword, a fist, or other objects to tackle your enemies – all you need to do is gather citizens and recruit them to your cause. Check out the trailer here, in 60 frames per second, so you can get a full feel for the fluidity of the game! Read more…
Tags: Platinum Games, Wii U
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 4, 2012 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Ok, your first clear look at Mandarin. There were hints of him in the first trailer for Iron Man 3, but now we have a nice clear image of him. And you know what? Ben Kingsley looks pretty awesome all dressed up like that. I’m impressed how well they adapted the character for the screen – although, is he wearing a graphic tee underneath all that? I’m interested if Shane Black (the new director) can pick the series up after the generally disappointing Iron Man 2, given his close relationship with Robert Downey Jr. Perhaps the magic of the first movie will never be matched, but at the very least I bet we’ll get an awesome villain. Click the image above for a larger version! Read more…
Tags: Iron Man 3
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 4, 2012 in Fandom, Videogames 
One of the most impressive-looking indie games on the radar right now is StarForge. Combining the building of Minecraft with the guns of Borderlands and a heavy dose of random terrain generation, the three-man team looks to be doing a great job tackling the (seemingly) huge job. They’ve started an Indiegogo campaign to help them finish the game, and already have gotten a solid amount of money for the project. I love this era of indie creativity and uniqueness. Although there’s always going to be a few bad apples, the outstanding games more than make up for it. I hope StarForge fulfills their goals! Watch the trailer below. Read more…
Tags: Indie Games, StarForge
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 3, 2012 in Cinema, Videogames 
It’s been quite a while since we heard anything about the Castle Wolfenstein movie. Last news was, Roger Avary, who worked on Silent Hill and Pulp Fiction’s scripts, had been working on a script. Now it seems that Panorama Media and the producer, Samuel Hadida, have gotten sick of waiting and threw their hands up in the air. “You know, Avary, why don’t you just direct it?” He’s directed plenty in the past, so I can see why they’d go this way. However, will a Castle Wolfenstein movie really be a hit with audiences at this point in time? I kind of feel like its relevance has gone way down. Maybe they’re just interested in doing a pulpy, violent action film with no rules or guidelines? Read more…
Tags: Castle Wolfenstein
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 3, 2012 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Sony is revving their engines for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and of course they’re out hunting down their villain. Given the implied ending of the first movie, people guessed that Electro would be the main villain. Sony hasn’t even bothered keeping it a secret, and they’re apparently looking into having Jamie Foxx play the shocking (haha, no) villain. Foxx certainly didn’t help matters by tweeting that he dressed up as electro for Halloween, saying the “costume fits well.” Is Electro a good fit for the next Spider-Man film? I’m sure there are better villains out there, but I’m still curious to see how they tackle the character. Read more…
Tags: The Amazing Spider-Man
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 2, 2012 in Anime 
Let’s put this right up front: Evangelion. I’m very aware of all its flaws, the pandering to the fans. And I still really enjoy it. I love it, and I’m especially excited about the third remake film, Evangelion Q aka You Can (Not) Redo. Sadly, I won’t be able to see it on it’s release date, November 17th, in Japan – I’ll have to wait for the US release or import the Blu-ray. After being shown a short 30-second trailer last month, we have some fresh video! This new trailer doesn’t help matters, but I can’t stop watching. There’s new footage, particularly of eye-patch wearing Asuka, and new content sprinkled within. I especially love the new music piece from Shiro Sagisu, “The Wrath of God, in All its Fury.” Really haunting! Watch the video below. Read more…
Tags: Evangelion
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 2, 2012 in Cinema, Star Wars 
Still reeling from Disney buying Lucasfilm earlier this week? Yeah, me too. There’s a lot of good news here, some uncertainty, but most of all I’m excited. I’m feeling a little like a fanboy again at the prospect of new Star Wars films – or should I say, the prospect of new Star Wars films that could be good. More good news? George Lucas has made all of us who ever complained about the prequels looks like whiny children. He announced that he’ll be giving the majority of the money from the 4.5 billion dollar Disney deal into a foundation to support education and education issues. Do you think he dropped the mic and strutted offstage after the announcement, too? Read more…
Tags: Disney, George Lucas, Star Wars
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 29, 2012 in Science 
Here’s a great way to start your week if you’re a space fan: a 9-gigapixel (yes, giga) image of the Milky Way taken by the VISTA at the ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. Thousands of images that were taken by the telescope were stitched together and then released in one enormous 108,500 x 85,500 pixel picture – and it looks absolutely gorgeous. It was run through three infrared filters so we can see stars that would usually be hidden in a normal view. If you’d like you can visit the site and see higher-res versions of the image, or even download the original full-size picture! Yes, all 24 gigs of it!
Tags: milky way, Space
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 29, 2012 in Videogames 
Check out the new limited edition Japan-exclusive 3DS that Nintendo is dangling in front of our faces – a Charizard-themed Pokemon 3DS. The cover is pretty cool, right? Nice design and it looks slick – and then you open it up and see the flames rippling across the back. Kudos to whichever artist at Nintendo came up with that one… pretty clever! Much like the Pikachu 3DS XL from earlier this year, you need to enter a drawing and win to be eligible to even pre-order this system. Hopefully this will eventually show up here – the Pikachu one is making an appearance in Europe, so there is some small sliver of hope! Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Pokémon
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 28, 2012 in Fandom 
Merry and Pippin are always playing jokes and, obviously, always getting into trouble. This cute video from Brotherhood Workshop does an excellent job of bringing the LEGO Lord of the Rings sets to life in stop-motion. The two reckless Hobbits attempt to scare Frodo and Sam and end up getting burnt in the process – although what else would you expect? I’m continually impressed by the quality of these animations, especially with how smooth they are. I know CGI is being used for most of LEGO’s commercial work now, but some classic stop-motion would look even better if done like this! Read more…
Tags: Lego, The Hobbit
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 28, 2012 in Videogames 
Want a blast from the past? Here are some awesome photographs taken by Ira Nowinksi from 1981 and 1982, giving you a glimpse back to the classic arcades of yesteryear. There are around 700 photos total, all recently added to the Stanford University Libraries. It’s pretty neat to see this kind of stuff get documented, although I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. And man, talk about an intense stance up there. You thought we were bad today, leaning towards the TV, controller clutched tightly? Try that pose for 3 hours. Check out a few more photos after the break! Read more…
Tags: Arcade Games, Photography, Retro Games
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 27, 2012 in Hobbies and Collections 
There are a lot of classic books covers I love. Some of them are really iconic, stuff you’ll always remember. Out of Print has a unique idea that I love: take book covers and put them on t-shirts. Maybe it’s really obvious, but I haven’t seen anything exactly like this before. So you can get your favorite book cover design on t-shirts, sweaters, and more – and they also donate to Books for Africa in the process for each item sold. Pretty neat! Click through for some more images or visit their site to check out the full selection! Read more…
Tags: Classic Books, T-Shirts
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 27, 2012 in Cinema 
Poor Jason Momoa – he was a good Conan, stuck in a bad movie – and now he’ll never get a second chance. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed on with Universal Pictures to return and play Conan in a new film called (to everyone’s surprise, I’m sure) The Legend of Conan. I’m sure Arnold has been missing the cameras, but this whole situation seems hilarious to me. This movie better be amazingly terrible or actually good, because no one wants another middling Conan film. Funnily enough, the producer went out of his way to say this new film skips the second Conan (1984). Just smile and nod, I suppose. Read more…
Tags: arnold schwarzenegger, Conan
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 26, 2012 in Hobbies and Collections, Videogames 
Thanks to Major League Mods (Mark Bongo), they’ve accomplished something I’ve wanted since I was young: to have my own R2-D2 that plays video games. Ok, maybe it wasn’t that specific, but you can’t deny that an original Nintendo Entertainment System crammed into a plastic R2-D2 shell is pretty freaking cool. It features all your plugs, and the cartridge fits in on the back, out of sight. Mark even customized the controller a bit, to make it fit in with the rest of the package. Best part? The power and reset buttons are connected to a speaker that plays R2-D2 noises. You can play NES games on pretty much anything these days, but in the end, I still think these kind of mods are the best. Read more…
Tags: NES, R2-D2
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 26, 2012 in Anime, Hobbies and Collections 
Sailor Moon has been coming back in a big way, especially with the new anime series peeking over the horizon. Bandai is jumping in the pool with something I know a lot of fans have been clamoring for: a poseable Sailor Moon action figure! All we have so far is this image fresh from Tamashi Nation, in which you can also see what looks to be a Chibi Arts Sailor Moon in the background as well. I’m sure prices and release dates will be announced very soon, but for now you’ll just have to drool over this. Tomopop is also saying they’re hearing rumors of the other Inner Senshi/Scouts being announced too. Excellent! Read more…
Tags: Action Figures, Sailor Moon
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 22, 2012 in Hobbies and Collections, Videogames 
Ready to put your pets through some serious testing? Maybe you have a young child or robot that looks like a child and need to find the perfectly-sized Portal gun them. Thankfully, your strange requests have been fulfilled by ThinkGeek, and you can now get a mini Portal gun. It lights up and makes sounds just like the full-size replica that was sold earlier this year, but it’s smaller! ThinkGeek lists that it comes with a stand and a full-color gift box as well. I’m not sure why that’s a big deal, but maybe you really like gift boxes. In that case, head over there and get yourself one – it’s $59.99! Read more…
Tags: Portal, Portal 2, ThinkGeek
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 22, 2012 in Videogames 
Are you hyped at all for BioShock Infinite? Granted, we have a whole lot of other games (and a new system) to get through until February 26th next year, but the latest in the BioShock series is looking more and more impressive. I was a little worried when we heard reports that the development of the game was in trouble, but if any of that’s true, they’re certainly not letting it show through. Lots of aerial combat and vertical movement is featured in the trailer – something I, personally, adore. Watch the trailer after the break! Read more…
Tags: BioShock: Infinite
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 21, 2012 in Animation, Anime 
Like livetune? How about Megumi Nakajima? Maybe school girls traveling through time and space, bizarre colorful worlds, and ancient Japan in a desperate attempt to get to school? What do you mean that doesn’t make sense? Come on now, this is anime. Logic and rules aren’t exactly a priority here. This recent music video for livetune’s song, Transfer, with Megumi Nakajima, is really cool and blends surprisingly well with the music. Check it out! Read more…
Tags: music videos
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 21, 2012 in Videogames 
Super Meat Boy was one of the biggest indie hits in a long time, and coming from just two guys, it’s pretty impressive. The duo (Edmund McMillen & Tommy Refenes) was also featured in Indie Game: The Movie and gave an inside look into their work on the project. Now, they’re working on a new Super Meat Boy for iOS and PC, and have just announced their next game: Mew-Genics! (Exclamation point included.) There’s not too many details about the game yet, but they describe it as a game that’s “randomly generated, strange and involving cats.” Seems unique! And I’m up for whatever Team Meat creates next! Read more…
Tags: Indie Games, super meat boy, team meat
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