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Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 24, 2013 in Videogames 
While we’re all pondering what else Valve has in store for us, let’s look at an indie game series that has been approved for Steam via its Greenlight service. Higurashi: When They Cry (a.k.a. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni) is a visual novel series that has been sold through English publisher MangaGamer’s website. But with a Steam release approved and in the works, the company is considering updating the product. Being on Steam means much more visibility and higher sales, so it may be possible that Higurashi will receive a new translation. A translator says that they still need to look at their schedule to see if it’s doable, but it’s something they’d like to do. Read more…
Tags: Steam, visual novel
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 24, 2013 in Tech, Videogames 
The first of Valve’s three big announcements is here: SteamOS, a full operating system based on Linux. SteamOS will be downloadable for free and is intended for use on PCs in the living room. This isn’t Valve’s first attempt at moving from desktop PCs to the living room, having introduced Big Picture Mode that tailors PC games to an HDTV. The OS itself seems tuned to improve game performance, from audio improvements to input latency reductions. Read more…
Tags: Steam, Valve
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 19, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
The latest issue of SFX magazine has an interview with Alan Taylor, director of several Game of Thrones episodes as well as Thor: The Dark World. He says that when certain scenes just weren’t working in the film, he called in the director of The Avengers, Joss Whedon. Whedon had previously helped fix some of Captain America: The First Avenger, so since he’s in charge of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, the next big team-up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it makes sense that he’d be the one to turn to. Read more…
Tags: Marvel, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 19, 2013 in Fandom, Videogames 
If there’s an electronic device with a display, someone is going to try to get Doom, the landmark 1993 FPS game, running on it. An everyday piano isn’t even electronic, and yet someone has tried to get Doom running on it — with the help of a monitor, of course. The different sets of keys perform different tasks, as labeled above. It doesn’t look easy to control (I’m not sure that I’d be able to finish the first level), but for novelty sake, it’s amusing. And hey, the cacophonous notes seem almost fitting! Read more…
Tags: Doom, Music
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 18, 2013 in Science 
We’ve known for a while now that antibiotics are being used far too often today. What may seem like a no-brainer is sometimes helping to cultivate strains of super-bacteria that have grown resistant to the drugs meant to kill them. According to a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the situation is worse than we thought. Each year, over 2 million illnesses (which result in 23,000 deaths) are caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria and fungi, costing billions of dollars more in healthcare and societal costs. As Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the CDC, puts it: “If we are not careful, we will soon be in a post-antibiotic era. And for some patients and for some microbes, we are already there.” Read more…
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 18, 2013 in Videogames 
Shinji Mikami is well known for directing Resident Evil and Resident Evil 4, classics of survival horror (or I guess just horror for that second one). He and his studio Tango Gameworks have teamed up with Bethesda to make The Evil Within, a new horror game for most major platforms. It does look pretty spooky, with the enemies looking like a mixture of science gone wrong and forbidden occult magic. The Evil Within is coming out sometime in 2014, but hopefully it will be playable at this year’s Tokyo Game Show and we can get more enticing details. Read more…
Tags: Horror, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 17, 2013 in Videogames 
Even if you don’t follow the franchise, you probably still associate Pokemon with the phrase “Gotta Catch ‘Em All!” It was a marketing concept that was used in the early days to communicate that you’d need to catch more than your favorites to be a Pokemon Master (and encourage you to buy more and more stuff). Now that there are 649 pokemon and more to come in this fall’s Pokemon X & Y, the idea of literally catching them all seems out of reach for all but the most dedicated pokemon players, hence why the famous phrase hasn’t really been used for years now. (The newer games also allow you to “win” by only catching the 150-200 pokemon in that game’s region.) But now “Gotta Catch ‘Em All” is back, and it’s offering prizes. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Nintendo, Pokémon
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 17, 2013 in Dr. Who, Fandom 
In 2011, I began a journey to watch through every episode of Doctor Who, starting with the very first episode in 1963 and even including fan-reconstructions of missing episodes. I still haven’t quite finished it — I just got to the Sixth Doctor! — but I could have saved myself a lot of time by visiting an upcoming show in Sydney, Australia. Comedian Patrick “Doublethreat” Magee has created a show he calls “Every Episode of Doctor Who Ever Live on Stage,” which is pretty self-explanatory. That means he’s condensing 798 episodes into a one-hour show! Read more…
Tags: Doctor Who
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 12, 2013 in Videogames 
The latest CoroCoro magazine is out in Japan, and since it’s the last one before the worldwide launch of Pokemon X & Y, it’s got some more information. Perhaps the biggest news in this issue concerns Mewtwo, everyone’s favorite psychic pokemon from the first generation. We knew he was getting a Mega Evolution — a temporary evolution triggered in battle by holding a Mega Stone — but now it seems that he’ll have one of two. Depending on whether you’re playing X or Y, players will find Mewtwonite X or Mewtwonite Y. The previous Mega Evolution was apparently Mega Mewtwo Y, so this new one is Mega Mewtwo X. Maybe there will be other version-exclusive Mega Evolutions? The closest thing Pokemon has had to this in the past was the event legendary pokemon Deoxys, which had a different form exclusive to each Game Boy Advance game, though the forms were more changeable in later generations. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Nintendo, Pokémon
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 12, 2013 in Videogames 
With the way Square Enix struggles with any worthwhile HD endeavors, I’m always surprised to see them release a videogame, even when it’s an upgraded version of an older game. But putting my mild incredulity aside, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX is finally out in North America and PAL territories this week. The game collects the previously Japan-only “Final Mix” version of the first Kingdom Hearts, the PS2 remake of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and completely redone cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days on DS. Re:Chain of Memories and 358/2 Days both happen at around the same time after the first game but before Kingdom Hearts II, hence the “1.5” in the collection’s title. Everything has been remastered in HD, with some characters getting updated models and Kingdom Hearts I having some gameplay improvements. Now to wait for the inevitable Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX down the line…oh, and Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD, which was announced well before this collection! Read more…
Tags: Disney, Kingdom Hearts, square enix
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 11, 2013 in Videogames 
Deep Down‘s name sounds a bit awkward, like other Capcom games such as Resident Evil. But watching this trailer, the name really fits, evoking a sense of dread as you explore areas deep below the Earth’s surface. Many are noting that it seems to take the oppressive atmosphere of From Software’s Dark Souls while mixing in a sci-fi future concept of exploring past memories, a framework used in Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series. The result is this trailer that has practically sold me on the PS4 exclusive. Admittedly, there still isn’t much concrete information on Deep Down‘s plot, gameplay, or release date, so there’s plenty of time for expectations to fall as more details come to light. But for now, consider me excited. Read more…
Tags: Capcom, Fantasy, PS4
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 11, 2013 in Tech 
In what is surely not a shock, Apple has announced the next version of their smartphone, the iPhone 5S. Coming in white, black, and now a slightly-trashy gold, the iPhone 5S looks mostly the same as the iPhone 5, just like the iPhone 4 & 4S before it. There’s a silver ring around the home button with a fingerprint ID scanner for security, but the main changes are under the hood. The new A7 processor reportedly makes this phone twice as fast as the previous one, while OpenGL ES 3.0 improves the graphical capabilities. There’s also the M7, a motion co-processor, used for motion-sensing apps. Read more…
Tags: Apple, iOS, iPhone
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 10, 2013 in Tech, Videogames 
If you didn’t get the memo, Sony really, really wants you to buy a PlayStation Vita. The ailing handheld is in desperate need of a good install base. In Japan, they just announced two new products that will hopefully help turn the tide for the system. The first is the PCH-2000, a slightly redesigned Vita that is 20% thinner, 15% lighter, and comes in six colors. The battery now lasts for 6 hours, you can charge it via micro USB, and it comes with 1GB of storage, though you’ll want to consider buying a memory card, like the new 64GB one that costs about $100. A key difference is that this redesign sports a LCD screen instead of an OLED screen, which is sure to help battery life and screen consistency, but is a shame for those of us who love the current OLED screen. This WiFi-only Vita will be out on October 10 and cost the same amount as the current model. But the bigger news is their other big Vita announcement. Read more…
Tags: Playstation Vita, Sony
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 10, 2013 in Television 
There are only three episodes left to go in what is surely one of the greatest TV shows ever made, Breaking Bad. If you haven’t been collecting the series on Blu-ray so far, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has a proposition for you. Check out Breaking Bad: The Complete Series, a Blu-ray collection of all 62 episodes and 55 hours of special features on 16 discs. Those bonus features include a two-hour documentary on the making of the final season exclusive to this set, as well as all other previously released bonus material, even the retailer exclusives. All the discs are housed in a replica barrel from the show. There’s also a Los Pollos Hermanos apron, a collectible booklet, and a Breaking Bad challenge coin for fans. The set looks great! Read more…
Tags: Blu-Ray
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 5, 2013 in Videogames 
Kickstarter seems like a good fit for indie developer WayForward. Though they’ve worked on some big titles like DuckTales Remastered, Contra 4, and Adventure Time, it seems like they always wanted to do more with some of their original ideas. WayForward has created a Kickstarter for Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, to develop the game and bring it to every current console (except Wii), next-gen console, and Steam. If you’re into obscure games, you might recognize the game’s name from the critically-acclaimed, but very rare Game Boy Color game. A DSiWare sequel came out a few years ago, with a 3DS eShop sequel also on the way. But this is an all-new, HD game for consoles! Read more…
Tags: Kickstarter, Shantae
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 5, 2013 in Videogames 
Nintendo released another Nintendo Direct, holding a rather self-congratulatory roundtable to discuss more information on Pokemon X & Y. First of all, it was revealed that you would get your starter pokemon from your friend, not a professor. The professor will actually offer you a choice soon after of one of the starter pokemon from Pokemon Red & Blue, meaning you’re basically getting two starters. Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle’s evolved forms also have new Mega Evolutions, a temporary battle state triggered by a Mega Stone and a trainer’s Mega Ring. Charizard’s looking pretty good! Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Nintendo, Nintendo Direct, Pokémon
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 4, 2013 in Videogames 
Contrary to popular belief, Disney and Harmonix’s Fantasia: Music Evolved does have some classical music in it. Just look at this gameplay demo of part of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in the newly revealed section of the game called “The Haven.” I’m not sure how much the area is incorporated into the actual game, but it has plenty of charm, including some sort of fantasy snow creature. I’m hoping the game is filled with many of these realms, though I’m sure there are multiple songs featured in a single realm. Hopefully there is the option for even more classical music as DLC. Read more…
Tags: Disney, Music, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 4, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Were you one of the many people upset by the changed ending in the movie version of Watchmen? Personally, I thought that the new one worked rather well and tied Dr. Manhattan into it to boot. But I did miss the squid, and I forgot just how graphic the original ending was in comparison. It turns out there was a reason it was changed besides studio executives thinking that a giant squid might be a little out there. When David Hayter was asked about writing the script, he explained that the studio was very sensitive to 9/11-esque imagery that may offend viewers in such a big budget film. It makes sense, and the Hiroshima shadows were a good way to underscore how many people died without showing their bloody corpses. Read more…
Tags: Watchmen, Zack Snyder
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 3, 2013 in Videogames 
Speaking of Square Enix, they’re rolling out the preorder content for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. We already know that if you preorder the game in the US you get Cloud’s outfit and sword. But in Japan, you can also get various feudal Japanese armors as well. This latest video shows off some battles, and a lot of the samurai outfits do look admittedly cool. I’m less into the same victory pose over and over again, but I suppose you might not notice if you’re sticking to one outfit most of the time. Read more…
Tags: Final Fantasy, square enix
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 3, 2013 in Videogames 
Technically, getting a Western release of Bravely Default: Flying Fairy, Square Enix’s critically-acclaimed so-far-Japan-only JRPG, in our native tongues counts as an improved version to me. But while it’s great that Squenix finally confirmed the 3DS game for Europe in 2013 and America in 2014, gamers were slightly concerned when the company announced an updated version with expansion content, misleadingly titled Bravely Default: For the Sequel. It features better battles, better UI, better graphics, and more content in general that may hint at a sequel. Interestingly, it also has multiple language options (including English), which made everyone concerned about whether or not this better version was the one the rest of the world would also be getting. Read more…
Tags: Bravely Default, RPG, square enix
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 29, 2013 in Science 
We know that there might have been life on Mars, but could Mars have been responsible for the beginning of life on Earth, if new evidence is to be believed. Professor Steven Benner, a geochemist at the Westheimer Institute for Science and Technology, has posited that Martian meteorites thrown by volcanoes or impacts may have landed on Earth and acted as “seeds.” He argues that the oxidized mineral form of molybdenum, a building block necessary for life to grow, wasn’t present on Earth due to low oxygen levels three billion years ago. However, it was found on Mars, which had oxygen at one point. Meteorites carrying the element could have crashed on Earth, bringing the ingredient that may have helped tar form, which led to the first organisms. It’s an interesting thought, because if so, we could technically be part-Martian! Read more…
Tags: Mars
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 29, 2013 in Videogames 
I’ll say one thing for Nintendo: you can’t ever safely predict what they’re going to do. Apparently they wanted to offer a cheaper version of the 3DS, targeting kids age 6 and under who shouldn’t be using the system’s 3D visuals but who may want to play the next Pokemon game. So they’ve created the 2DS, a system that plays 3DS (and DS) games with no option to turn on 3D. It’s coming out on October 12, the same day as Pokemon X & Y, for $129.99 in either red or blue. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Legend of Zelda, Nintendo, Wii U
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 28, 2013 in Videogames 
If you haven’t quite reversed your position on the Xbox One yet, here’s a few more reasons to consider buying it at launch. Three exclusive games will have bonus Day One content, provided you buy the Day One Editions or buy a digital copy within the first two weeks. Besides having special packaging (that matches if you buy all three games), Dead Rising 3, Forza Motorsport 5, and Ryse: Son of Rome will have the following additional content. Read more…
Tags: Xbox One
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 28, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Iron Man 3 ended with lots of explosions and fire, without getting into too many spoilers. But according to artist Federico D’Alessandro’s animatics, a certain character could have had a small part in the climactic battle. Click through to find out and watch. Read more…
Tags: Iron Man, Iron Man 3, Marvel
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