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Future Shock documentary set to tell the story of 2000AD

Andy Haigh
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Future Shock documentary set to tell the story of 2000AD

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Future Shock is the name of an upcoming documentary that looks at the origins and long history of 2000AD, the seminal and influential British anthology comic.

First appearing in 1977 originally intended to capitalise on the growing interest in sci-fi with the appearance of Star Wars, 2000AD was far removed from George Lucas’ clean cut space opera. 2000AD quickly established itself as being gritty, violent, edgy, anti-authoritarian, blackly comical but most of all inherently British too. The 2000AD name would also become synonymous with a host of memorable characters, completely unlike anything else in comics, the most infamous being Judge Dredd, with others including Rogue Trooper, Strontium Dog, Slaine, ABC Warriors, Nikolai Dante, Sinister Dexter, Durham Red and many more.

Director Paul Goodwin had this to say about 2000AD,

“2000AD is the comic that people don’t know they like. Its pop cultural influence is massive – it’s been referenced, homaged and outright ripped off in everything from other comics to films to television to music – and yet too many people are unaware of it. So many of us owe a debt to 2000AD – both as fans and creators – and FUTURE SHOCK! is our attempt to acknowledge that.”

2000AD editor Matt Smith (no, not that Matt Smith) had this to say,

“The birth, development, and legacy of an important British institution like 2000 AD is a tale worthy of a feature-length presentation – and I’m very excited to have it told in this documentary project. The SF anthology broke the mould when it was launched in February 1977, and over the past 36 years it has been responsible for publishing some of the most groundbreaking, influential comics in the world, created by a roster of amazing writers and artists that have gone on to change the face of contemporary graphic storytelling. This doc is an epic undertaking, three and a half decades in the making, and I can’t wait to see the history of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic unfurl on screen.”

Check out the teaser trailer which features acclaimed writers Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison and Dan Abnett alongside former Vertigo editor Karen Berger amongst others. Beware, it also features some “adult” language.

‘Agents of SHIELD’ gets its Mockingbird

Daniel Delargy
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‘Agents of SHIELD’ gets its Mockingbird

Does anyone recall Patton Oswalt’s special message to greet San Diego Comic-Con SDCC 2014? You know, the one where they make an obvious reference to SHIELD Agent Bobby Morse, aka Mockingbird? Well, if you don’t, here is the message again.

It has finally come to light that it wasn’t just a throwaway mention, and a name has been associated with the role – actress Adrianne Paliki will be joining the cast for Season 2 of ‘Agents of SHIELD’. Paliki is no stranger to the superhero genre, as she previously played as the titular character in the 2011 pilot of Wonder Woman, and as Nadia in the Aquaman 2006 pilot.

She joins a whole host of new cast members, such as Kyle MacLachlan as Skye’s (Chloe Bennet) father, Lucy Lawless as SHIELD veteran Isabelle Hartly, Reed Diamond as Hydra villain Daniel Whitehall (aka Kraken), Nick Blood as a mercenary Coulson reaches out to for help, Henry Simmons as agent Alphonso “Mac” Mackenzie and Simon Kassianides as Bakshi, a confident right-hand man who’s not afraid to do the dirty work.

New Titles for PS4 and PC Announced at Gamescom

TheWookie
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New Titles for PS4 and PC Announced at Gamescom

So there is this thing called Gamescom every year, where various developers announce and reveal upcoming games. On August 12th 2014, Paradox Interactive revealed two upcoming titles for PS4 and PC.

Hollowpoint, a fast paced, co-op combat style game set in the 22nd century will join the family in 2015. Putting players in charge of secret organizations of corporate mercenaries, taking on paid missions for prestige alongside three other player online in co-op mode, Hollowpoint is developed by Ruffian Games. This is the same developer that brought us great titles such as Crackdown 2.

Hollowpoint

Old School meets Near Future:

  • Hollowpoint is played with a great blend of 2D side-scrolling action with 3D targeting, this will challenge players to take down enemies in front of them as well as in the background of their surroundings.

Plan and Execute:

  • Each mission is procedurally generated along with objectives, level layouts, and events requiring a mix of strategic planning and skilful action to complete, no mission is merely routine.

Organization, Corporation and Cooperation:

  • Team up with friends via PSN or Steam and take on contracts together, handling your personal operatives to succeed, or fail, together.

Upgrade and Adapt:

  • Earn experience and skill points to upgrade operatives, and outfit them with the correct abilities, weapons and equipment for the job.

Below is the first look at Hollowpoint. I don’t play Playstation but I do own a PS4 and this game just might be the one to convince me to use it for something more than Netflix. For more information on the game visit www.hollowpointgame.com.

Now, I think that it looks absolutely incredibly, it actually made me squee a little. That storyline is really intriguing, could it be a glimpse into our own future?

Now the second game that was announced doesn’t get me going like Hollowpoint, but it still has some interesting points to it. Peer into the Norse inspired world of Runemaster, in this newly released story trailer featuring game play combat.

In Runemaster you will be able to write your own saga as you guide customised heroes through a chaotic conflict, across the six worlds of Norse mythology. Turn-based tactical combat will separate the brave and the cunning from the common folk. With an emergent narrative told through procedural quests and an ever changing world, Runemaster will ensure that every story is unique to the player. With all of these upcoming release dates, I better start playing, to learn the Playstation controller setup and be ready for some gaming action that I’m just not quite used to yet.

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First glimpse at Marvel’s Ant-Man!

Cristina Bogdan
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First glimpse at Marvel’s Ant-Man!

It was definitely not an easy ride for this particular Marvel hero when it came to getting his own movie, but it seems like things are finally on the way. The very first picture taken on the set of the movie was released for the public. Paul Rudd, who will be playing Scott Lang, the movie’s main character, is show looking kinda rugged, something to be honest I never thought when picturing Paul Rudd (but that’s most definitely just me, I’m told). I still like it, though.

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Just in case some of you have been squatting under a rock for a while (which is perfectly fine), here’s the official synopsis of the movie:

Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

The movie was in production hell for a long time, something that made a lot of fans question whether it was ever going to happen or not, but this photo pretty much seals the deal. I mean, we have photographic evidence that it’s happening. With a little under a year to wait for the movie’s release (with a set date for the 17th of July), more information will become available, but this has been quite a promising start. Marvel has yet to disappoint when it comes to movies, with a quite a winning streak. Given the stellar cast they managed to gather around: Michael Douglas and Evangeline Lilly, to name a few, it’s bound to be another success. I’ll still be keeping my fingers crossed, though.

 

Ubisoft CEO states “Nintendo Customers Don’t Buy Assassin’s Creed”

Nick Hanchet
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Ubisoft CEO states “Nintendo Customers Don’t Buy Assassin’s Creed”

In an interview with Game Informer, Yves Guillemot (Ubisoft CEO) has stated that Watch Dogs will be the last mature game coming to the Wii U, a console that hasn’t had the best support from third-party developers.

“It’s very simple. What we see is that Nintendo customers don’t buy Assassin’s Creed. Last year, we sold in very small numbers. What we see is that they are very interested in Just Dance, very interested by other kinds of games. So what we are trying to do is to focus more on the types of games they are interested in.”

“Watch Dogs is coming to Wii U… It will be the only mature game we publish on it.”

The Wii U version of Watch Dogs was initially expected to release the same time as the other versions, but was unfortunately held back for disclosed reasons. It is expected to launch sometime this fall.

What do you make of all this? Is this the final nail in the alleged coffin of the Wii U, or will Nintendo’s admittedly superb first-party offerings keep it afloat? Personally, I don’t believe gamers as a whole appreciate lacklustre ports of games that then don’t receive the same post-release support, whether it be in patches or promised DLC (I’m looking at you Batman: Arkham Origins), than their more popular counterparts.

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Do Ubisoft consider the Wii U to be akin to a car crash? (Sorry)

Mike N’ Nick’s Gentlemanly Chats Ep 16: Dolphin Porn and Nesquick

The_Dark_Mike
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Mike N’ Nick’s Gentlemanly Chats Ep 16: Dolphin Porn and Nesquick

Happy #Talkietuesday exveryone.

This week we make Nesquick. That’s about it. For like, and hour.

 

Click here, I guess, I mean, whatever.

Legend of Zelda & Assassin’s Creed Monopoly announced

Nick Hanchet
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Legend of Zelda & Assassin’s Creed Monopoly announced

It’s very rare I’ll play Monopoly these days. Aside from the rare special occasion, such as Christmas, it stays on the highest shelf, pushed all the way back. This may soon change for two reasons.

First up, the Legend of Zelda edition of this hugely popular board game. Hitting stores (in America) on 15th September, you’ll be able to move around as your favourite inanimate objects including the Boomerang, Hookshot, Bow, Hylian Shield, Triforce and Ocarina of Time. Don’t forget to pass go for 200 rupees.

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Each area depicts locations from different LoZ games

Next up is the Assassin’s Creed version, available sometime in November, most likely coinciding with both the Assassin’s Creed: Unity and Assassin’s Creed: Rogue iterations of the video game franchise. Featuring all the Assassin’s you know and love, you’ll be running across rooftops as Altair, Ezio, Connor Kenway, Edward Kenway, Aveline and Arno, star of the previously mentioned Unity. They obviously didn’t find adding a female model into this game too difficult, now that the amount of polygons aren’t a contributing factor. The Gamespot article (found here) makes note of how USAopoly doesn’t hold the license for Assassin’s Creed and will, therefore, not be releasing this in Northern America. Luckily, Europe is still on the board (pun intended).

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One word summary? Epic.

Will you be picking either of these up? Or, given the chance, what fictional universe would you like to play in the form of Monopoly? Let us know in the comments below.

Dean Trippe’s Something Terrible available for pre-order now

Andy Haigh
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Dean Trippe’s Something Terrible available for pre-order now

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A while back Dean Trippe did a Kickstarter with the hope of producing a printed edition of his autobiographical comic Something Terrible, he set a rather small target of just over $6,000. What he wasn’t expecting was the rapidly snowballing support he received with the campaign finishing at over $45,000 raised.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you probably already know about Trippe’s Something Terrible and even if you don’t, chances are you’ve seen one particular image taken from it somewhere on the interweb. Seeing it in context though makes it all the more powerful. Trippe’s story told via almost uniform panel layout in black and white and blue is that of a young boy who suffers sexual abuse that haunts him more or less his entire life, leading him to create this comic.

Whilst Something Terrible may be a rather brief affair at 14 pages it has a resonance that can’t be denied, examining the power that heroes have, even fictional ones, and how they can provide a much-needed escape from reality. Trippe has been outspoken about how his work has resulted in dozens of people messaging him about their similar secret origins.

Now anyone who missed the Kickstarter can pre-order the printed edition of Something Terrible, which features additional bonus material and a new four page epilogue – order it by going – HERE

New Pokemon Project Announcement Next Week

Nick Hanchet
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New Pokemon Project Announcement Next Week

The Pokémon Company and much-loved Japanese video-game publication Famitsu will be hosting a livestream reveal event for the new Pokémon Project next week.

Whilst no specific information has been revealed for this new project, we do know that it will be streaming live on Tuesday, August 26th at 10pm Japan time (1pm UK, 5am Pacific) on the popular streaming site Niconico. As CVG state, whilst no information has been given, the fact it is in collaboration with gaming magazine Famitsu lends itself to the idea that it is indeed a video game.

Could this be regarding the still-unexplained image that was shown September last year, causing the game director Junichi Masuda, whilst in an interview with Nintendo Life, to playfully reply with the following:

“Ooh, I wonder what it was…I’m not sure…” he said, while smiling and laughing. “That was actually a video which was shown at the Pokémon Games Show, an event in Tokyo last month and it was showing the history of Pokémon games as well as the future. It was kind of a concept about what the future of Pokémon may look like…”.

We can only hope. I can tell you one thing though. I definitely don’t want it to be one for “Great Detective Pikachu”, a trademark that was revealed late last year. That’s something that no-one wants to see.

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Lucario vs Blaziken, duking it out in a realistic setting. Or having a staring competition. Either way, it looks beautiful.

 

Fantasy Flight Games reveal Star Wars: Imperial Assault

Bevan Clatworthy
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Fantasy Flight Games reveal Star Wars: Imperial Assault

Fantasy Flight Games have announced at Gencon their latest board game in the Star Wars universe: Imperial Assault. Set in the period after the destruction of the Death Star above Yavin 4, this board game shows all the high quality components and artwork synonymous with an FFG release.

Victory! By destroying the Death Star, the Rebellion has given hope to a galaxy living in fear. The Empire races to recover from their crushing defeat and the loss of their ultimate weapon as the Rebel Alliance works to solidify their advantage. When an Imperial distress beacon begins to broadcast from an remote outpost on Yavin 4, a small team of elite Rebel operatives is dispatched. Their mission: to silence the signal at all costs…

SW:IA is being billed as two games in one. The first is a Campaign mode for up to 5 players with one taking the part of the Galactic Empire and the others commanding members of the Rebels. FFG have included over thirty missions to make your way through, everything from smuggle runs through to pitched battles. The second is a Skirmish mode, where players pick teams to go head-to-head for objective led missions.

Looking very cool!

At first glance, this would look like a Star Wars Descent clone. Descent is FFG’s flagship dungeon crawler, set in a fantasy IP. On closer inspection however, Star Wars allows for a greater depth of content, plus the use of well known and loved characters (yes, you can play as Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader!).

Will it be a winner? Lets hope so, because it looks amazing and with the upcoming Star Wars films this could prove to be a perfect addition to the Star Wars fan’s collection.

For the official press release, follow this link or head on over to Fantasy Flight Games.

Images are the property of Fantasy Flight Games.

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