Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Paranormal Activity 4ormula Trailer

There's no denying the juggernaut franchise that Paranormal Activity has become. Four movies which which cost about 13 million to produce have grossed well over a half a billion dollars, not too shabby for a series that started with $15,000. Personally, I enjoy the series but I can clearly see its faults and why people love to make fun of it. Few people have been as successful with their jabs at the series as brentalfoss who produced a trailer after the debut of the third film which perfectly spoofs the formula used to make each movie. Enjoy and Happy Halloween!


Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Visit Future Tokyo In Fan Made Doctor Who Anime

Since I've recently outed myself as a Dr. Who fan, I figure it's a good time to post a fan made anime episode of Dr. Who I stumbled on. Much like the recent Star Wars Anime, it's really damn impressive to see what a dedicated fan can produce based on an established franchise. Clocking in around 12 minutes, the episode fittingly takes place in a futuristic Tokyo and features some of the Doctor's most iconic villains like the Cybermen and Daleks. The style is based on the older Doctor Who series well before the 2005 reboot. This is a must watch for any fan of the series. Enjoy!


Monday, October 29, 2012

Club Nintendo October Rewards Update #5

Nintendo has updated their downloadable Club Nintendo rewards replacing Pilotwings with Super Punch-Out!! for Wii Virtual Console.The expiration date for this offer is now November 14 and the price is 150 coins. Be sure to check back November 5 for the next reward, which will likely be on eShop or 3DS Virtual Console.

Super Punch-Out!! - Wii Virtual Console
150 Coins (Available Until November 14)

Saturday, October 27, 2012

New Evil Dead Trailer Looks "Groovy"

Evil Dead is one of those off beat horror flicks that polarizes a lot of viewers. While many people point to the superior and infinitely more memorable Evil Dead II, there's no denying the ambition and fun of the highly successful indie original. What many forget is that the original movie was a more serious take on the horror genre versus the "horror comedy" the series evolved into. There is a lot of argument whether this film is a remake or sequel and from the looks of the new trailer, I would classify it as a sequel/tribute. Many iconic scenes have been redone but this is a new cast of characters simply in the same cabin from the original film so don't fear someone trying to replace Bruce Campbell as the lovable Ash. As a matter of fact, both Bruce Campbell and series creator Sam Raimi are producing the new film with the former even scheduled to appear in a cameo. One of the more exciting revelations is that the film is supposed to be done with practical effects which based on the trailer, look pretty damn sweet. Enjoy!


Friday, October 26, 2012

DreamRift Would Like To Return To Monster Tale

It's no secret I am a fan of the often overlooked Nintendo DS "Metroidvania" gem, Monster Tale. I am happy to report that developer DreamRift has not forgotten their first original title and would even like to produce a sequel. Released last year, Monster Tale was DreamRift's first game and got the attention of Disney who contracted the company to produce Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion for the 3DS. DreamRift founder and creative director Peter Ong was open when sharing his thoughts on Monster Tale.
"I can't say too much right now regarding Monster Tale's future, although we have exciting ideas for it. Anything is possible, either with a publisher or through other avenues such as the eShop. We definitely hold a special place in our heaarts for [Monster Tale] with it being our first full creation at DreamRift, and we'd love to bring it back."
What's next for DreamRift after 3DS Epic Mickey? Ong said that is up to the fans.
"It'll be the support of the fans ... that will ultimately determine what DreamRift makes."
Personally, I would love to see a follow-up to this game on 3DS or even the Wii U eShop. Do yourself a favor a grab a copy of Monster Tale and enjoy one of the best original DS titles.

Source

Live Action Castlevania Series Haunts YouTube This Halloween

As Castlevania begins its trek to hit the silver screen, a group of fans have released the first part of a new live action Castlevania series. Titled Castlevania: Hymn of Blood, the new series shows promise and a nice bit of polish for being fan produced but as time goes on, fans have shown a better grasp of video game source material than the "professionals" and are constantly improving their craft. I urge you to check out the beginning of this series which ends with a preview of the next chapter, a nice touch. Enjoy!


Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Treat Your Ears To Some NEScapism

A new mini-album titled NEScapism has been released by electronic recording artist The Electric Witch (aka Zac Bentz). It's a slick little album that remixes the iconic themes of 5 classic NES games including Castlevania, Zelda and Metroid. The whole album is only $1 (or name your own price including Free) and clocks in at over 25 minutes, not too shabby considering that most 3 minute songs cost you a buck. You even get the chance to preview the tracks here. I highly recommend a purchase if your a fan of NES era game music or are into supporting the indie community. Enjoy!


Monday, October 22, 2012

Amazing Doctor Who Trailer Is A Perfect Sneak Peak

I always enjoyed science fiction as a kid and I thought I had a good beat on what to expect. I grew up on Star Wars and Star Trek with the years bringing me series such as The X-Files and underrated gems such as Farscape and Fringe. Always on the periphery of my vision was Doctor Who. Familiar more with the iconic imagery such as the TARDIS and The Daleks mainly because of my aunt, the series always seemed like to much of an investment to really get into. About 2 months ago, I stumbled upon an all day BBC marathon of specials exploring the worlds and characters of the new Doctor Who series which started in 2005. Interested, I fired up the Wii and clicked on Netflix thrusting myself into a marathon of over 90 episodes with my wife and I becoming as invested in the series as one of the Doctor's many "Companions". Needless to say, we have both become fans with even my son requesting that I build a Lego Dalek for him (I ended up building 3 different size variations). It is a series that any intelligent sci-fi fan should be watching and I have found a trailer on YouTube that gives a taste of this epic series without giving away too many "Spoilers". Enjoy!


Club Nintendo October Rewards Update #4

Nintendo has updated their downloadable Club Nintendo rewards today replacing 3D Classics: Urban Champion with Pro-Putt Domo for 3DS eShop.  The expiration date for this offer is now November 4 and the price is 100 coins.  Be sure to check back October 29 for the next reward, most likely for WiiWare or Wii Virtual Console.

Pro-Putt Domo - Nintendo 3DS
100 Coins (Available Until November 4)

First Wii U Commercial Hits The Web

With Nintendo's latest home console less than a month away from launch, it's expected that Nintendo will start blasting your tube with a marketing blitz to raise awareness and understanding of their newest little white (or black) box. To kick things off, the first ad is coming from the UK and it does a pretty good job of explaining what the controller is all about while showcasing some of the stellar launch lineup. Pretty impressive in roughly a minute. Enjoy!


Saturday, October 20, 2012

Films That Will Change Your Life - We Are Legion


With the "civilized" world now COMPLETELY dependent on computers, the real wars of the future will be fought electronically. While you may think this will be between country's, this will actually play out between hacking community and the governments of the world. As our government grows, so does the corruption and frankly I feel pretty good knowing that there are still people out there who will stand up and fight the man. We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists gives a fascinating look into this world from where it started back in MIT up to the Occupy movement that formed in 2011. In the unseen world of the internet, groups like Anonymous have stepped forward and shown they have the power to bring the system to its knees and this scares the shit out of the establishment. You owe it to yourself to watch this amazing documentary and remember that the government should always be afraid of its people and not the other way around as has been the case in recent years.

We Are Legion Official Website

Thursday, October 18, 2012

The GameStop Rant!

There are a million horror stories about GameStop with a vast majority being 100% true. The trick has always been finding a story that articulates the details in an entertaining way while not coming off as bitching and whining. I have found that YouTube user xRazorFistx has a unique and entertaining way of reviewing games by blending the vocabulary and style of Dennis Miller with a fowl mouth heavy metal vibe as The Rageaholic. While you may not always agree with his views, his arguments are always valid and his videos are entertaining and quite humorous. I have chosen to feature his GameStop rant which hits the nail on the head and showcases a knowledge of the inner workings of the company that I personally know all about. Enjoy and please subscribe to his channel if you like his work!


Monday, October 15, 2012

Club Nintendo October Rewards Update #3

Nintendo has updated their downloadable Club Nintendo rewards replacing Dr. Mario Online Rx with SNES flight classic Pilotwings for Wii Virtual Console. The expiration date for this offer is now October 28 and the price is 100 coins. Be sure to check back October 22 for the next reward, which will likely be on eShop or 3DS Virtual Console.

Pilotwings - Wii Virtual Console
100 Coins (Available Until October 28)

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Capcom Shows Contempt For Its Fans With Mega Man Xover

Many classic game icons have celebrated their birthdays in recent years. Mario & Zelda turned 25 (Metroid did as well but this was ignored by Nintendo) and Kirby even celebrated his 20th birthday in a surprisingly robust anniversary collection for the Wii. This brings us to Capcom's little blue bomber who turns 25 this year and Capcom is taking the chance to spit in the face of the fans. Ever since series godfather Keiji Inafune left the company, Capcom has gone out of its way to cancel the Mega Man games he was working on, ignore the cries of fans and "design" a social iOS games that mocks even the fundamentals of video game design. Mega Man Xover is Capcom's one and only official game to celebrate the Blue Bomber's birthday. I use the term "game" very loosely because this thing is essentially a two button auto run app that has a Mega Man skin. Seriously, even the Tiger Electronics version of Mega Man 2 had more depth to its gameplay. Fans have fired back by releasing a flash version of the game built in 24 hours with software over five years old and released it for free to allow gamer's to sample this joke. While Mega Man had his fair share of bad games, his good/great games always made up for it and nothing was as truly awful as this turd and a series as prolific as Mega Man deserves better. What makes this sting more than anything is the fact that after Keiji Inafune left the company, he offered to complete Mega Man Legends 3 for the 3DS as an independent contractor and Capcom refused. This is even more puzzling when you consider that Capcom farms almost every one of their franchises out to other companies. Oh Capcom, what has happened to you?

Rockman Xover Flash [Newgrounds]

Fans Recreate Rockman Xover in Flash [Rockman Corner]

Saturday, October 13, 2012

An End To The Dry Spell

It has been surprisingly dry lately on the gaming front and with the exception of things such as the Wii U, there doesn't look to many exciting things on the horizon. It seems like this would be a good time to introduce you to some of the better YouTube channels out there. There are over 20 channels I am personally subscribed to and with atrocious channels such as G4 pumping out garbage gaming shows like X-Play, YouTube provides some amazing video game shows with excellent content. For the next couple weeks, I will be introducing you to some of my personal top picks. If you like what you see, I urge you to subscribe and show your support. Please feel free to sound off and comment on your personal YouTube Channels of choice, I would love to hear about them.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

PBS Mini Documentary Chronicles The Indie Game

The video game industry is in a strange state right now, traditional game development is in a battle with indie game development and the future of gaming has never been richer. Indie games are exploding right now and with the help of things such as Steam and Kickstarter, the barriers to making your own game have dropped and it scares the establishment to death. With the next console generation, you will see traditional games truly go head to head with the indie community. Nintendo has really become quite friendly with the indie community going as far as spotlighting multiple projects for their upcoming Wii U eShop and the OUYA could change the face of home console gaming as we know it. The effects of this are already apparent with major studios cutting back on budgets, teams and project sizes to compete. Documentaries such as Indie Game The Movie are expanding awareness of this corner of the game industry. PBS has put together their own mini documentary that offers an inspiring peak into the world of independent game design. Enjoy!


Monday, October 8, 2012

Club Nintendo October Rewards Update #2

Nintendo has updated their downloadable Club Nintendo rewards today replacing Bird & Beans for DSiWare with 3D Classics: Urban Champion for 3DS eShop.  The expiration date for this offer is now October 21 and the price is 150 coins.  Be sure to check back October 15 for the next reward, most likely for WiiWare or Wii Virtual Console.

3D Classics: Urban Champion - Nintendo 3DS
150 Coins (Available Until October 21)

Halftime Show Features A Stirring Video Game Tribute

At a recent college football game, the Ohio State University Marching Band put on an amazing halftime show that will tickle your inner game geek. The epic 9 minute show featured music and formation marching imagery from classic games such as Pokemon, Tetris, Super Mario Bros., Halo and Zelda. The standout piece was the Gerudo Valley theme from Ocarina of Time matched up to the band marching in the shape of a running Epona. Already clocking in at over 1 million views, the video shows just how big video games are in our culture. Enjoy!


A special thank you to my cousin who reminded me to link to this as I had originally planned to post this yesterday.

Rayman Legends Slips Into Early 2013

Ubisoft has decided to push their amazing Rayman Legends from the Wii U launch line-up into Q1 of 2013. This move is worldwide but keeps the release within the "launch window" of the Wii U putting the new date between January 1, 2013 and March 31, 2013. Ubisoft issued a statement about the game stating:
"Rayman Legends will launch worldwide in the first quarter of 2013
"We're happy that fans are excited about the game, and we are taking the time to make sure we deliver a game that lives up to and hopefully exceeds their expectations. We'll have more details to share soon."
This is not really a surprising move considering how many games Ubisoft is set to launch  day 1 with the new hardware. Zombi U will now become their primary focus alongside roughly 5 other games which is good considering how well received that game has been. If I were to guess the true reason for the move, it would probably be a request from Nintendo themselves because the game would have been a direct competitor to New Super Mario Bros. U and it is no secret that many gamer's were planning to skip Mario's newest adventure in favor of the gorgeous Rayman platformer.

Source

Sunday, October 7, 2012

In The Eye Of Zombi U - Episode 2

Ubisoft has released the next episode in their ongoing mini series about the making of Zombi U. The game continues to look better and better each time it is showcased and it is very exciting to see Ubisoft taking it so seriously. After the rather disappointing latest entries of Resident Evil and Silent Hill series, Zombi U is shaping up to be a refreshing return to proper survival horror. While many like to flaunt a negative attitude about Nintendo and their future, it's becoming evident that the company has listened to past complaints and is taking an uncharacteristically proactive approach to their new console. Enjoy!


Thursday, October 4, 2012

Amazing Retrospective Series Explores History Of RARE

If you are a Nintendo fan there is no doubt a sweet spot in your heart for RARE, a company that has had an enormous impact on many of Nintendo's past consoles. Their golden era was during the life of the Nintendo 64 creating a legacy of characters and franchises still revered to this day despite their ruin at the hands of Microsoft. YouTube user NostalgicGamer86 has been creating an excellent documentary series since late 2010  which explores the history of this beloved company with an insane amount of detail. A Rare Retrospective is an inside look at RARE covering everything from their inception up through their golden era with each part focusing on a specific game series loaded with lots of interesting inside information. I have linked to each part below including the running time considering that there is well over 2 hours of content.

NostalgicGamer86 has also produced a series of multi part retrospectives for a variety of video game franchises such as Street Fighter, Tekken, Max Payne and Shenmue and I recommend checking them out if you're a fan of those respective series. The quality of his productions are very high and the information is second to none and deserve to be viewed by any true gaming fan. Enjoy!


Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Nintendo Makes The Digital Push On 3DS This Fall

Nintendo is making the move to digital distribution swiftly with not only new 3DS titles this fall but also a slew of hits from last year. To assist with this, Nintendo will release a program next year to move your save files from the physical cartridge to the 3DS. Oddly enough, this will require you to own both the physical and digital versions on each game which kind of defeats the purpose of buying the games again in digital form. The games set to hit the eShop in Japan this fall are:

  • Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
  • Mario Kart 7
  • Mario Tennis Open
  • Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
  • Pilotwings Resort
  • Star Fox 64 3D
  • Super Mario 3D Land

It is simply a matter of time before these hit the 3DS worldwide. Nintendo is also taking its first steps into paid downloadable content tomorrow with the release of New Super Mario Bros. 2 Coin Rush DLC. Provided Nintendo keeps their word on not abusing paid DLC, this will offer hardcore gamer's additional challenges to complete. Set to release 10/04/2012 for New Super Mario Bros. 2 are:

  • Gold Rush Pack (1 star difficulty) - $2.50
  • Coin Challenge Pack A (3 Star Difficulty) - $2.50
  • Nerve-Wrack Pack (5 Star Difficulty) - $2.50
Topping off the digital push is a promotion that rewards players who purchase digital versions of Nintendo published games this fall. If you decide to skip the physical cartridge, you will receive a special version of Donkey Kong for the NES (playable through the 3DS Virtual Console) titled Donkey Kong: Original Edition. To qualify for the promotion, you will have to purchase one of the qualifying games from the 3DS eShop and register it with your Club Nintendo account before January 6, 2013. The list of eligible games are as follows:

  • Paper Mario: Sticker Star
  • Style Savvy: Trendsetters
  • Crosswords Plus
  • Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone!
  • Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask

Crytek Wants To Make TimeSplitters 4 A Reality

First Person Shooters have largely become a tired genre with each successive release looking more and more like the last. With a few exceptions, the FPS is quickly wearing out its welcome with titles such as Call of Duty now falling into the same hole that killed off staples of the industry such as Tony Hawk and Guitar Hero. For fans of the genre, there is one series that stands out as a work of passion that perfectly blends fun and depth creating something truly unforgettable. That series is TimeSplitters and after the loss of Free Radical, many thought this series was lost. Well, with Crytek absorbing Free Radical, it turns out that many within the studio have a large desire to bring back this series. Crytek producer Peter Holzapfel has stated the studios desire to bring the brand back. There is a Facebook Group set up to gather followers and show the fan desire to see the series make a comeback. With over 35,000 followers, they have a good start but their goal is 100,000 so I am doing my part to support this wonderful campaign and ask that you do the same if you're a fan of this amazing series. If you're not a fan, grab a copy of TimeSplitters 2 or TimeSplitters Future Perfect for the PS2, GameCube or Xbox and get ready for a fun time (don't forget your friends because the multiplayer is AMAZING).



Monday, October 1, 2012

Club Nintendo October Rewards Update #1

Nintendo has updated their downloadable Club Nintendo rewards replacing PictureBook Games: Pop-Up Pursuit with Dr. Mario Online Rx for WiiWare.  The expiration date for this offer is now October 14 and the price is 100 coins.  Be sure to check back October 8th for the next reward, which will likely be on eShop or 3DS Virtual Console.

Dr. Mario Online Rx - WiiWare
100 Coins (Available Until October 14)