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Benedict Cumberbatch Confirmed as Doctor Strange

Callum Tyndall
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Benedict Cumberbatch Confirmed as Doctor Strange

After several months of rumour starting in October, Benedict Cumberbatch has now been confirmed as the Sorcerer Supreme. In an official statement from Marvel, producer Kevin Feige has said “Stephen Strange’s story requires an actor capable of great depth and sincerity. In 2016, Benedict will show audiences what makes Doctor Strange such a unique and compelling character.” With Sinister director Scott Derrickson at the helm and a script from Jon Spaihts (Prometheus),  it’s certainly going to be interesting seeing one of the stranger, no pun intended, characters in Marvel’s stable put on the big screen, particularly as played by such a distinctive actor. It’s even possible we may see something of the character in the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron as the blockbuster sequel is set for reshoots and additional filming this month. The additional shooting has also led to rumours that Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther may be making an early appearance.

For those of you who don’t know, Doctor Strange starts out as a top surgeon who, after a car crash, loses his ability to operate. Travelling to the Himalayas, he seeks out a healer known as the Ancient One, eventually learning from him the mystic arts and setting out to stop various magical threats.

You can expect Doctor Strange in theatres July 18, 2016.

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Terminator Genisys Trailer is Finally Here

TheWookie
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Terminator Genisys Trailer is Finally Here

When the Terminator stated “I’ll be back”, he wasn’t lying.

The year is 2029. John Connor, leader of the resistance continues the war against the machines. At the Los Angeles offensive, John’s fears of the unknown future begin to emerge when TECOM spies reveal a new plot by SkyNet that will attack him from both fronts; past and future, and will ultimately change warfare forever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62E4FJTwSuc

Now it is my understanding that the plot of this movie is a frakken mess. I will reserve judgement for after the movie actually releases. I do have to say that Jason Clarke makes a damn good John Conner. Le Swoon. It will be interesting to see how they work in the part about Sarah Conner. Argh, I can’t say more without spoilers.

Returning for his iconic role, Arnold Schwarzenegger will play Terminator. Joining him is Emilia Clarke as Sarah Conner, Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese and of course my favourite, Jason Clarke as John Conner. Terminator Genisys is directed by Alan Taylor and is set to release July 1st 2015 in America.

Spectre Announced as the Next James Bond Film and Cast Confirmed

Becca Harper
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Spectre Announced as the Next James Bond Film and Cast Confirmed

Spectre is the confirmed title of the next Bond film, announced today by Eon Productions, MGM Studios and Sony Pictures, live from Pinewood Studios. A staple of Bond lore, S.P.E.C.T.R.E is the global terrorist group led by Ernst Stavro Blofeld and his cat, introduced to the big screen in Dr. No. with the new title bluntly suggesting they are back.

spectre

The 24th film incarnation of 007 is to be directed by Sam Mendes and stars Bond veterans Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes (M), Ben Whishaw (Q), Naomie Harris (Moneypenny) and Rory Kinnear, with the additional cast Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Monica Bellucci, David Bautista and Andrew Scott.

Waltz is confirmed to play Oberhauser, this could be reference to the chracter from Bond canon, Hannes Oberhauser, one time tutor of Bond and referred to as his second father before his mysterious disappearance. Seydoux is to play Madeleine Swaan, Belluci is Lucia Sciarra and Scott will portray new addition to the Whitehall team, British secret service agent Denbigh. Bautisa is set to will play an Odd Job/Jaws-esq henchman, Mr Hinx.

Production begins on Monday at Pinewood Studios and naturally for a Bond film, filming will take place in several jetset locations including Rome, London, Morocco, Mexico City and the Austrian Alps. The films release date is the 6th of Novemeber 2015.

Watch the full live announcement below

 

 

 

Age of War

Bevan Clatworthy
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Age of War

Don’t let the epic name fool you; Age of War is a tiny game of conquest set in feudalJapan. Created by legendary designer Reiner Knizia and published by Fantasy Flight Games, does this game live up to the pedigree?

The game play of AoW is fairly straightfoward. The players set out 14 Castle cards which feature rows of symbols (such as an archer or cavalry) and a number, which represents how many victory points the card is worth. Players can ‘defeat’ a Castle by rolling the seven custom dice at the beginning of their turn, then trying to match the dice results to the symbols on each card. However, a player can only place the dice if they can complete the whole row; no half measures!

 

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Everything in the little box

To make the game play more complex, players can only complete one row at a time, so even if you’re lucky enough to roll all the symbols you need in one go, you can only assign dice to one row. You then have to roll the remaining dice and hope to match another row. If unsuccessful, the player has the option to lose one die from their pool and then roll again. This continues until the player either completes all the rows, thus defeating the Castle and getting to take the card for the victory points printed on it, or the player runs out of dice. If this occurs, the dice get passed to the next player.

Another wrinkle is that even if you defeat a Castle and claim the card, the other players at the table can choose to instead try and steal your card for themselves. This is done by matching the symbols as before, except that the attacking player also needs to roll an extra Daimyo symbol in the top left of the card. This makes taking the Castle from a player more difficult than taking one of the unclaimed Castles. I love this feature of the gameplay, as it means players are not immune to the predations of the other players. It keeps the game engaging too, as players have the opportunity to get back into the game if someone is streaking ahead on victory points.

Finally, each Castle is part of Clan which is represented by the colours of the cards. If a player can collect all the Castles from the same Clan, the set is then flipped over. This has two benefits for the player who accomplishes this; firstly, the flipped cards as a set are worth more in victory points than the individual Castle cards added up. Secondly, the cards are immune to being attacked by the other players. This is a clever level of detail in an otherwise low-strategy game as players will have to decide whether to go for an easy card or that harder card that would give them a little extra in victory points and score security. The game ends when the last unclaimed Castle card is taken, with most victory pints determining the the winner.

The custom dice symbol matching mechanic with re-rolling is practically the same as that used in Eldar Sign, where players are instead trying to complete Rooms for various rewards. Whilst it is incredibly difficult to come up with new mechanics in the board game industry, this copycatting may be the main reason why FFG picked up this design to publish. AoW could almost be thought of as Eldar Sign Lite, which in itself isn’t a bad thing; a clever twist on an old mechanic can be just as welcome to me as something completely new.

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Close up of the Castle cards

I like how the game presents you with some choice in how you go about playing; Do I take a Castle in the centre of the table, or go for an opponent’s card? Do I go for the easy one pointer or take a risk and get the last purple Clan card to complete my set? The bottom line however is that it is a dice game, and is very heavily influenced by luck to the point where strategy takes a back seat in game play. Sure, you can pick the Castles that are statistically more likely to come up on the dice, but if Lady Luck has turned her back on you, it won’t matter. This is something I didn’t enjoy about AoW; you need to accept that you may, through no fault of you own, spend turn after turn after turn doing essentially nothing as the symbols you need just don’t turn up. This can be very frustrating, especially if your opponent goes on a hot streak and seems to roll what they need every time.

The game is short at around 15-30 play time, which is suited to the game’s simplistic mechanics and quick turns. AoW will accomodate from two to six players, but is best kept at the 3-4 player range, as down time between rounds gets to be a drag in larger games.

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Close up of the custom dice

The components and artwork are as you would expect from FFG; amazing! The card stock and box have a linen finish for durability and feel like they could take some serious abuse. The colour scheme is colourful yet muted with a fantastic looking battle scene on the front. The rulebook is well written and clear with examples to help guide players through the admittedly simple ruleset.

Age of War is a short and simple game with some limited strategy but mostly a hefty dollop of luck. AoW is a strange beast in that you need to accept that no amount of skill will save you if the dice just aren’t going in you favour. The game is playable enough, and is suitable as a filler between bigger games, but it’s not a game I would pick up and play for a whole evening.

Images courtesy of BoardGameGeek.com

Wigan Comic Con – Sunday 7th December

Hani Fearon
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Wigan Comic Con – Sunday 7th December

This weekend sees one of the year’s last conventions hitting the UK, with Wigan Comic Con taking place on Sunday 7th December. After an incredibly successful first event back in June, Robin Park Sports Centre will once again play host to the new con up North.

With over 120 retailers, artists, writers and celebrity guests, Wigan Comic Con promises to be ‘bigger and badder’ at the December event. Guests from Doctor Who, Star Wars, The Hobbit, Game of Thrones, Storage Hunters and more will be available to meet on the day, along with plenty of fabulous artists and writers exhibiting their work. Cosplay guests are also in attendance, including Tabitha Lyons and Mistyy Cosplay. A sure highlight for fans this weekend will be Sean Kelly and Jesse McClure from Storage Hunters who will be running a live auction at the event. I’ve met both Sean and Jesse before at other events and they’re both lovely guys, so this will definitely be worth checking out.

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One of the main features of Wigan Comic Con that impressed me during the first run was the huge variety of retailers on offer at the event. I’ve been to many similar conventions at which the stalls are incredibly limited and you see the same stuff each year. From geeky merchandise to artwork, clothing and much more, there is guaranteed to be plenty on offer. Once again, I’ll be having a booth myself at Wigan, selling some lovely Geek Treats artwork and jewellery. Make sure you come and say hello if you spot us, you might even get some goodies for being a Geek Pride fan. Shameless plug over, let’s carry on.

Another big draw for visitors at Wigan Comic Con is the family friendly atmosphere, with plenty available for little ones on the day, something often forgotten at larger events. The organiser, Paul Prescott, has always been keen to push this element of the convention and I think that it worked really well back in June.

Tabitha Lyons
Tabitha Lyons

Alas, early bird and advance tickets have sold out, but the event will be open for non-ticket holders at 1pm for £5 a ticket. Following a hugely popular event in June, the organisers have decided to stagger entry times to limit queueing, which is always a concern at conventions. Early bird ticket holders can access the venue from 10am, with general entry at 11.30am, followed by those without tickets in the afternoon. All guests will be at the convention throughout the day, which rounds up at 5pm.

For more information about the event, check out Wigan Comic Con’s Facebook Page. If you can’t make the event, look out for an event review and some interviews with guests next week, along with plenty of fabulous cosplay photos.

‘The Splinter Cell’ Short Film

Daniel Delargy
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‘The Splinter Cell’ Short Film

How many of you have heard the name Sam Fisher, aka ‘The Splinter Cell’ (also, as I see it, America’s answer to Solid Snake from the Metal Gear series)?

To those who don’t (like myself, I must add), all you really need to know is that he is the protagonist of the Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell series, which is one of the biggest game series brought to our silver screens by Ubisoft (other titles including the Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry), and whose games have been generally well received.

This 9 minute short – produced by Atomic Productions – gives us a glimpse into how the series could be handled by a major production company.

This short makes it easy for a newcomer to the Splinter Cell universe – like myself – to understand what is going on. Sam Fisher is military man, with multiple training in – what you would expect from your average military protagonist, save for a specific proficiency in stealth. He’s requested by the Pentagon, and throughout this you see what I presume to be the future, where he undertakes the request – physical training, and the infiltration what looks like a warehouse in Germany to recover sensitive information. Cue stealth takedowns, a close-quarters combat situation, and many close up shots of the iconic trifocal goggles.

I loved it, and it does show the passion these fans have for the series. Given that there are rumours of a film in the works for a release sometime in 2015, I think that whoever is producing it should most definitely take the efforts put into this short, into account!

Now, I’m off to try and join the Third Echelon ஃ

John Constantine: Hellblazer – The Soul Play

Andy Haigh
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John Constantine: Hellblazer – The Soul Play

John Constantine: Hellblazer – The Soul Play is a fan film made by UK based production crew Waking Dream Studios. The short is set in Vertigo Hellblazer continuity with the story taking place some time after the final story by writer Peter Milligan. The story has Constantine, played by David Chabeaux, joining a trio of demons playing poker for souls.

Whilst it might have a nonexistent budget compared to NBC’s Constantine this “all swearing, all smoking, all grifting tale of John Constantine” is firmly rooted in the world of the Vertigo comic and definitely captures the Hellblazer vibe. Chabeaux makes for a good Constantine, looking uncannily like Simon Bisley’s take on the character.

The short was written, directed and produced by Richard Reynolds and his passion for the source material is obvious with numerous references for fans to pick up on and enjoy.

See the film below:

Disney. Cocktails. You’re Welcome.

therockfairy
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Disney. Cocktails. You’re Welcome.

This time of year is a time for partying and I came across these little gems to help bring some fun to the proceedings.  I can’t deny I am a fan of Disney and booze so Disney themed cocktails are always going to be a hit with me!  Cody Winfrey is a mixologist from the US who has created a selection of cocktails for the Disney fan in everyone and I’m sure you’ll agree that they’re pretty genius.

Christmas is coming up so first up, let’s have some Nightmare Before Christmas cocktails…

night

nightmare

Or maybe you’re more of an Alice In Wonderland fan…

alice

alice2

mad

Frozen is all the rage so you could go that route…

Capture

Here are some others to get your imagination going…

101

fool

king

lion

poca

rapunzel

Whatever you decide, drink responsibly.

Shadow of Mordor: How not to port a game to other consoles, by Monolith Productions.

Andy Haigh
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Shadow of Mordor: How not to port a game to other consoles, by Monolith Productions.

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Shadow Of Mordor recently arrived on PS4, XBOX One and PC and it was pretty amazing.Taking the blueprint of Rocksteady’s Batman Arkham games and adding to it with the impressive Nemesis system, amongst other things, and setting it in the rich and engrossing world of Tolkien’s Middle Earth really saw the game as a highlight of the year.

Gamers that haven’t invested in a new gen console though had to wait several extra weeks to get their hands on the game. Unfortunately the dark lord Sauron seems to have had a hand in the painful reality that is Shadow of Mordor on last gen consoles because to say that it’s underwhelming is being very polite.

Design director for Shadow of Mordor Michael de Plater explained in an interview that Shadow of Mordor wouldn’t be as impressive on last gen consoles,

“To break it down, some of the stuff we’re pretty confident will still be very similar on current gen: the core mechanics, like combat, stealth, ranged and movements; the basic control and gameplay, that should all be really solid. What it won’t have is the same level of depth and variety and simulation within the ‘Nemesis system”

That was pretty much a given, something designed for current gen is going to be less polished and smooth on last gen. What anyone who has actually picked up Shadow of Mordor for PS3 or XBOX 360 will know though is that pretty much nothing about this port is “solid” apart from the disc and the case it comes in.

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I’m about 10 hours into the game and that 10 hours has been a painful and frustrating experience really. Whilst cut scenes look excellent pretty much everything else about this game is just very poorly executed. Shadow of Mordor, simply put, looks downright ugly most of the time, at best it looks like a PS2. There’s a murky look that isn’t just due to the setting of Mordor itself not being a particularly bright or cheery place.Games don’t have to be visually stunning if they are engrossing and enjoyable, unfortunately Shadow of Mordor is so beset with problems that it’s hard to apply either.

It wasn’t until attempting the first mission featuring conniving orc schemer Ratbag The Coward that the scale of things really became apparent: textures would fail to load, music would skip or drop out completely, dialogue would skip and more than once the game froze when I got stuck on a ledge trying to sneak around. This wasn’t a one off either, the exact same things would happen several other times when I replayed the mission.

Things only got worse after that as other things soon became glaringly apparent. For example, looking at the map requires a 5 -10 second load time and a further 5-10 second load time to get back to gameplay, as does entering the pause menu where you apply the runes and ability points you collect as you progress . This becomes grating very quickly and makes you want to avoid doing either but both are essential to actually playing the game.

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A big problem is textures continually failing to load in game, often the surrounding area will be rendered in a crude, basic manner and only rendering when you get nearer but often failing to do so even then. Often when continuing Story Mode your character will appear in mid air as the Forge Tower renders slowly beneath his feet before you can begin playing.  Combat is also a sluggish, often unresponsive affair a far cry from the slick fluid combat of the Arkham games. Enemies will often randomly float into the air mid fight. The audio of their death rattle often plays several seconds after they actually die too. Fighting more than 4 enemies at a time will result in pretty bad slow down too, especially if you’re in a stronghold and not out in the open.

The Nemesis system itself is based around the hierarchy of Sauron’s army, one of the key things is if you die then the Orc or Uruk who killed you will get promoted and if you meet him again he will remember you. This adds some depth to combat so it doesn’t feel like just killing endless grunts and it’s easy to build up a grudge against an elusive or tough captain. The Nemesis system also features numerous missions based around the animosity and in-fighting in Sauron’s horde. Often though, these missions are haphazardly broken up with load times and it’s not uncommon for the screen to just cut to the black loading screen, on top of which missions will sometimes  glitch out entirely and you gain the bonus without actually having to do the mission.

Something that is quickly noticeable is whenever an orc or uruk captain introduces himself, you never see their lips move to indicate actually speaking. This might seem like nitpicking but it really is a throw back to games of yore in a time before games were actually capable of having character movements synced with speech.

A key component is gaining intel from underlings in the horde but this again is bogged down with load times, features crude rendering and often skips dialogue.

Most games have bugs, especially open world games, but it’s not just bugs here though. The game plays like it hasn’t even been finished. From the start, Shadow Of Mordor on PS3 plays more like a demo for a game in development than a finished game and it really doesn’t get any better the more you progress, if anything it gets worse. The game froze in the middle of a fight with a war boss at one point meaning all the progress made on the whole mission wasn’t saved and had to be done again – from the beginning – with the knowledge that it might just freeze again.

Another mission features entering the lair of a Graug, a large troll like creature. Again the cut scene looks impressive but in game the Graug barely rendered when it appeared, looking like something that the design team forgot to finish.

There’s the bones of a quality game here but the rest of the body is just diseased. Either Monolith just really couldn’t be arsed and just churned out a lazy cynical cash grab as a middle finger to any gamers out there that haven’t got the money to buy a new console or Shadow of Mordor shouldn’t have been ported to last gen at all. Unlike when Skyrim came out for PS3 and was riddled with glitches and bugs, including a pretty major one there’s not much likelihood of Monolith fixing the mess with a few patches given that last gen is apparently an afterthought.

Shadow of Mordor might be an amazing thing to behold on current gen consoles but on last gen it really is just a shadow of itself.

For anyone that hasn’t played it here’s Shadow of Mordor running on a PS3:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_ieGPTcJa8

Robbie Burns: Witch Hunter

Andy Haigh
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Robbie Burns: Witch Hunter

robbie-burns

Robbie Burns: Witch Hunter, published by Renegade Arts Entertainment, comes from the creative team of writers Gordon Rennie and Emma Beeby along with artist Tiernen Trevallion. Taking one of Burns’ most famous works, Tam o’ Shanter, the comic plays on the idea that the events described therein are actually based on events Burns experienced one eventful night.

A famed writer/poet’s work being based on surreal events from their own lives is a rich idea and Rennie and Beeby get some comedic mileage from contrasting the romanticised image of a poet with the Burns featured here, his introduction finding him in a drunken brawl after apparently fooling around with another man’s woman before promptly vomiting all over the street and getting his face shoved in it by the larger and irate transgressor.

It’s when the drunken Burns goes riding into the night on his horse whilst trying to compose his latest ode, stumbling upon an occult coven engaged in a ritual that the story really shifts a gear. Burns isn’t the only one to discover the ritual, witch hunters McKay and Meg have been tracking the coven. Burns soon ruins the pair’s stealthy approach though having being entranced by the seductive leader of the coven.

Some of Robbie Burns: Witch Hunter‘s charm may be lost on those not familiar with the Scottish poet but that doesn’t make it any less engaging as a story. Rennie and Beeby’s dialogue has a distinctly authentic Scottish feel to it which might leave some readers a little puzzled but meanings are well conveyed in the context. One of the best things about this is avoiding the cliched trap of having two male witch hunters, McKay is the senior of the two while Meg is the younger and isn’t there just to look pretty either.

Tiernen Trevallion’s art is atmospheric and definitely adds to the appeal of the unfolding narrative. There’s some great creature designs throughout, with Trevallion clearly suited to stories featuring supernatural elements. One of the great touches is the book also features a biography of Burns written by Jerry Brannigan, co-author of Robert Burns in Edinburgh, along with a selection of Burns poems alongside illustrations. This is the kind of thing that makes this book ideal for those wanting to learn about the story’s inspiration and about Burns himself.

Robbie Burns: Witch Hunter is definitely something a bit different and recommended to those that like something besides superheroes in their sequential art or have an interest in history and culture.

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