Don’t just take my word for it, listen to Tim Schafer and the “Bastion narrator guy” tell you – Humble Indie Bundle V is amazing. The premise is the same as always: pay what you want for four great indie games, and if you pay above the average, you get a fifth. Plus it all goes to charity! The games this time around are LIMBO, Psychonauts, Amnesia, Sword & Sworcery EP, and Bastion, the fifth unlockable game. Not only that, you get each game’s respective soundtrack (and all of them are pretty darn good). There’s really no reason not to pick this up, even if you have most of these games already. 13 days are left, so don’t wait too long.
Ready for another trip back into Skyrim? Bethesda has finally shown the first trailer for the upcoming Skyrim expansion, Dawnguard, and for Elder Scrolls fans, this looks to be a nifty new addition. Vampires look to be coming back in a big way, and according to the trailer, the Dawnguard will be who they’re up against. Also, the vampires want to get rid of the sun, which seems to be a pretty difficult task to me, given that, you know, it’s the sun. But magic can conjure up many things, so we’ll have to see this summer when it arrives on Xbox 360 first for 1600 points, then one month later on other platforms.
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 31, 2012 in Star Wars
I have to say that I’m shocked to have never known that this existed! Here is the very first professional song that Jon Bon Jovi recorded — a duet with R2-D2 singing We Wish You A Merry Christmas: Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on May 31, 2012 in Television
Okay, so maybe there really isn’t any reason you need to own these classic episodes in stunning “high definition” — after all, how high definition could you expect from a series filmed in the early 50s. Still, owning all 153 episodes of the original series in one pristine collection might be worth your time. Set to hit stores on June 5th, The Twilight Zone: The Complete Series Blu-ray box will feature all of those episodes supposedly remastered for high definition. That being the case, I would imagine they some how got hold of the original film reels, but I’ve yet to see just have enhanced the footage might look. The set will retail for $400, but if you preorder through Amazon, you can cut that down to $230 — not bad, right? From what I understand, they’ll also be included the original unedited version of each episode so you can compare and contrast for yourself. Anyone brave enough to pick this set up and give it a try?
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 31, 2012 in Animation, Cinema
The kind folks at Chronicle Books have supplied us with two amazing bits of preproduction art for the upcoming Pixar Disney film Brave. Make sure to click on each illustration to see it at full size: Read more…
New York Comic Con just announced that they will no longer have a side show which was called the New York Anime Festival. And adding insult to injury their press release no longer refers to cosplay, but instead uses the mundane term “costume contest”. It’s been hard watching what’s happened to the show over the last few years — but you just get the feeling that New York Comic Con is embarrassed by anime. Read more…
And now Ridley Scott wants Harrison Ford for Blade Runner II? The saddest thing an artist can do is to be forced to go back to their past to amuse the masses. This was the trap that poor George Lucas fell into: Try-and-try as he did to remake Star Wars he couldn’t pull it off. The result? Of course we all stood in line and watched Jar Jar Binks, but now that it’s been more than a decade since The Phantom Menace and today fanboys still yearn for the real thing — Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. And sadly I fear Ridley Scott is going down the same path to schlockdom. Read more…
Tim and I have had a strange fascination with the upcoming film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. It looks pretty ridiculous, but I’m in the camp that it needs to be fairly tongue-in-cheek. This red band trailer, though, looks to be pretty serious in tone. I mean, a shotgun-axe is pretty silly, but they’re handling it pretty casually. But maybe that heavy-handed seriousness will add to the hilarity. We’ll find out when Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter arrives in theaters on June 22nd.
Hideo Kojima is much like you fans: he wants to create a new Zone of the Enders game. Sadly, he hasn’t been able to yet, but he’s recently shown off his concept for another game in the series, called Enders Project. While Kojima himself is busy with other games, he’s tasked other people at Konami to handle it (Ryosuke Toriyama is creative director and Yoji Shinkawa is the designer and illustrator). They’ve built up some impressive looking models and have them running in the Fox Engine, but only time will tell if the game will be fully made. Still, given that Kojima is putting this out there, it seems he feels pretty confident that it will succeed. Read more…
Star Wars Weekends at Walt Disney World in Orland are still going on (till June 16th, so not much longer!), so pay attention if you’d like to see yourself frozen in carbonite. They’re set up a great attraction where they photograph your face, and then make a model out of it, so you can have your own action figure of you in the famous frozen Han Solo pose. The catch? It’s only for Star Wars Weekends, you have to make a reservation, and it’s $100 per figure (8 inches tall). Is it worth it? Depends how big of a Star Wars fan you are, but this seems like a very cool event to me. Read more…
I don’t think I need to say much more than the title already says. The incredibly important song from Game of Thrones, “The Rains of Castamere” will be featured in the second soundtrack for the show, releasing June 19th. However, it’s performed by one of my favorite bands, The National. Yeah, this is awesome, and the world is beautiful. I’m certainly still interested in the rest of the soundtrack, but this is just a perfect cherry on top. I’m glad The National has been so involved with “geeky” projects, like this and Portal 2. Mainly because we get great music out of it!
It’s nice to see some good advertising for Dark Knight Rises, especially after that terrible poster that surfaced earlier in the week. These two new TV spots aired recently, highlighting the trouble Gotham is going through and Catwoman. I’m still not totally sold on her outfit, but it certainly looks better in action than in photos. There’s also a little hint of humor as well, which is a change of tone from the previous ads as well. While the hype is nowhere near Dark Knight levels, there’s still a great sense of finality to everything we’ve seen of Rises, and I find that comforting in a way. It’ll be great to see Nolan’s Batman trilogy wrap up, I’m sure, just the way he intended. The second TV spot is after the break. Read more…
In one of the dumbest, most ridiculous moves in recent memory, Paramount is delaying the actually-good-looking-or-at-least-silly-fun G.I. Joe Retaliation to March 29, 2013. It was supposed to come out next month, on June 29th. They’re hoping to add 3D to the film for an extra bang in the foreign box office, but I can’t help but wonder if this will ruin the film’s chances. Paramount has already dropped a huge amount of money into marketing, especially that Super Bowl commercial – and what about Hasbro’s toys and all the varied tie-in products? Are those just going to sit on warehouse shelves for 9 months? Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on May 24, 2012 in Videogames
The other day, Nike released an over-the-top interactive video to promote their line of soccer — or football, if you prefer — cleats. The video, titled “My Time is Now” allows you to click on Easter eggs hidden throughout the clip for an in-depth look at the various aspects of the advertisement, some of which are more entertaining than others. One such hidden gem is this quick little Sonic the Hedgehog mini-game featured about two-thirds of the way through the ad, which can be accessed by clicking on a Sonic the Hedgehog-colored cleat pictured in the background. Read more…
We’re back again! This time Ben and Tim chat with special guest Colette Bennett about dating sims, anime, wine tasting, and more! Ben also gives his take on the Avengers while Tim searches for a new laptop. Tune in each week for discussion and news… or ranting and raving! Click here to subscribe to us via iTunes and listen on your iPod, iPad, or computer! Or, hit the jump and stream it directly in your browser! Read more…
I have a bit of a soft spot for Will Ferrell’s Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. I think most fans would agree that of his recent films, Anchorman remains heads above the rest, so when he announced that plans for a sequel had finally come to fruition, we knew we’d be in for a treat. Here’s a look at one of the two teasers that have been floating around the past week. No doubt more will be revealed when Anchorman: The Legend Continues finally goes into full production next year. Until then, we’ll just have to hope they keep cutting these little teasers to keep us entertained.
Firefly & Serenity fans, feast your eyes on this 1:1 scale, screen-accurate reproduction of Malcom Reynolds’ sidearm! Just how accurate is it? The prop is crafted from the same mold of the stunt gun carried by Nathan Fillion himself while on set. That being the case, no it doesn’t fire real bullets, and that’s probably a good thing. On the other hand, this polystone prop makes for a great display piece, and would look great in the hands of any Browncoast cosplayer, or even a Steampunk enthusiast. It has that lovely antique-brass paint that lends itself so well to that aesthetic. At just $80, it’s an affordable addition to any fans arsenal, and although it’s currently sold out, ThinkGeek should have more in stock any day now. If you want, you can sign up to have them notify you as soon as they’re in stock by clicking here.
If you’re a Spider-Man fan, there might be a reason to catch the IMAX 3D midnight showing of Men in Black 3 on Thursday, or at least, sit through the trailers before getting up to leave. Attendees will be treated to a special six minute preview of The Amazing Spider-Man. Marvel has released its fair share of footage over the past few months in efforts to promote the film, but this special six minute preview will feature the most footage to date. Hopefully, it won’t be enough to spoil the film for those of you who choose to attend.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on May 21, 2012 in Videogames
Meat Bun has unveiled Check Point, their latest line of gaming-inspired fashion tees. The first part of the series feature designs inspired by classic racing titles like Mario Kart, Out Run and Daytona USA. For whatever reason, there also appears to be a design called Ninja Magic featuring what I imagine would be the ninja from Shinobi on a skateboard, the only commonality being that both were incredibly popular in the 80s. That said, it’s kind of strange but awesome design.
LEGO CUUSOO, where were you my whole life? I may not get the chance to build that many LEGO sets these days, but I can always count on others to provide innovative new designs worth checking out. Recently, a LEGO CUUSOO user Sheepo submitted this slick design for a fully functional remote-controlled LEGO Land Rover Defender 110. It’s got everything you’d expect — doors that open and close, full suspension, working motor, and even a removable chassis. I cant imagine how much they’d charge for the set if it were to actually be approved for full production, but if the model strikes you fancy, head over to LEGO CUUSOO and let them know. The sooner it hits 10,000 supporters, the sooner LEGO will actually consider licensing it.
You gotta admit, that helmet is pretty nifty – and given Loki’s huge female fanbase, I’m going to guess that a lot of them will be looking at picking this amazing figure: Hot Toys has returned to their Avengers line with another super-detailed model, this time of Loki. Once again, the face is the star here, with an incredible attention to detail. The eyes, though, those piercing eyes! They follow me around the room, it’s slightly unnerving. Still, if you’re a Loki fan or know one, you can pre-order him now for $219.99 for when he releases in December later this year. Read more…
Here’s the latest ‘supercut’ birthed from the internet’s vast collection of video clips and collections: Abed, the geeky, reference-filled character from Community says ‘cool’ a lot. And I mean a lot. If you ever wanted to hear a word slowly turn to mush in your brain and never regain its original meaning, then this video is for you, because ‘cool’ will never be the same. Many fans are feeling that way too, as Community showrunner Dan Harmon was dropped by Sony Pictures Television. A sad event, to be sure, but at least (for now) the writers are still on board, which is also important. Hopefully the quality can still stay the same despite his absence.
