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Next Instalment of Lego Batman Announced – Lego Batman: Beyond Gotham

Becca Harper
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Next Instalment of Lego Batman Announced – Lego Batman: Beyond Gotham

The very popular Lego Batman game series is unsurprisingly getting a third instalment with Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham. This time Batman and his fellow heroes take the fight to outer space to stop Brainiac destroying the Earth and promises “an astounding amount of characters from the DC universe”.

Here is the synopsis:

In LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, the Caped Crusader joins forces with the super heroes of the DC Comics Universe and blasts off to outer space to stop the evil Brainiac from destroying Earth.  Using the power of the Lantern Rings, Brainiac shrinks worlds to add to his twisted collection of miniature cities from across the universe.  Now the greatest super heroes and the most cunning villains must unite and journey to different Lantern Worlds to collect the Lantern Rings and stop Brainiac before it’s too late.

Alongside the announcement they also gave us the first trailer, and yes it is funny and awesome. I really do love seeing the Justice League in Lego form.

Here is the full press release:

LEGO® Batman™ 3: Beyond Gotham will be available beginning Fall 2014 for the Xbox One all-in-one games and entertainment system and the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems, PlayStation®Vita handheld entertainment system, the Wii U™ system from Nintendo, Nintendo 3DS™ hand-held system, as well as for Windows PC. 

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham is the next instalment to the blockbuster LEGO Batman™: The Videogame and LEGO Batman™ 2: DC Super Heroes videogames. To-date, LEGO videogame sales have reached more than 100 million units worldwide.

“Building on the incredibly successful LEGO Batman franchise, we are working to make LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham the ultimate super hero videogame this year for all ages,” said Tom Stone, Managing Director, TT Games.  “The TT Games team is bringing LEGO Batman and an astounding amount of characters from the DC Comics universe to the next frontier with a new epic story, more gadgets and unexpected challenges.”

In LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, the Caped Crusader joins forces with the super heroes of the DC Comics Universe and blasts off to outer space to stop the evil Brainiac from destroying Earth.  Using the power of the Lantern Rings, Brainiac shrinks worlds to add to his twisted collection of miniature cities from across the universe.  Now the greatest super heroes and the most cunning villains must unite and journey to different Lantern Worlds to collect the Lantern Rings and stop Brainiac before it’s too late. 

Players will unlock more than 150 unique characters from the DC Comics universe, including members of the Justice League and LEGO big figures such as Killer Croc, Solomon Grundy and many more. Fans of all ages will be able to control their favorite heroes and villains with new gadgets and abilities. Brainiac’s mind controlling abilities and the power of the Lantern rings bring unexpected twists to the classic characters’ personalities.

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham also will allow players to explore iconic locations such as the Hall of Justice, the Batcave and the Justice League Watchtower.  They will be able to access Batman’s training modules on the Bat Computer and take part in various challenges, battles and races.

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham is being developed by TT Games and will be published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. 

A Review of Asylum 12 – A Convention for Fans of Supernatural

Becca Harper
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A Review of Asylum 12 – A Convention for Fans of Supernatural

Asylum is a twice yearly unofficial convention for the fans of the TV show Supernatural. I have had the pleasure of attending this event twice, once as a fan and more recently on behalf of Geek Pride.

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Taking place at the Birmingham Metropole hotel, Asylum 12 quickly sold out not surprising considering the guests it attracts like Misha Collins, Jared Paldalecki and Mark Sheppard. This year it seemed the con was spread more widely across the hotel which, unfortunately, resulted in us getting a little lost, but that’s ok because there are plenty of staff and stewards around to point you in the right direction. Be nice to them, they have a hard job of keeping things running and making sure everything is going to plan.

We decided to spend most of our two days hanging out in the lounges with the guests – you can read about that HERE. However, I want to talk about the convention as a whole.

The first and most important thing to say is how lovely the fans are, it is obvious that over the years many friendships have formed and witnessing people meeting up after a long time apart is very touching. Everyone has one thing in common and that is a much loved TV show. This is what makes the experience unique, the average comic convention houses many people who have many diverse loves – like we all do – but an event such as this, has a more family feel and sense of belonging about it.

The package included in the ticket price is actually very good, it almost ensures you get to meet every guest. The only downside being that a couple of the guest autographs aren’t included in the price. They can be purchased separately though, but this adds to the time you are going to spend queuing and there is already a lot of that. Don’t despair though, chances are you’ll spot your idol a number of times during the event. For instance we walked past Ty Olsson having an outside ‘break’. He said hi we said hi, it was all very pleasant even if I had to subdue the urge to fan girl out.

Yes with such an event you have to expect to queue and whilst this frustrating and inevitably means you will miss out on the odd stage talk here and there, you’ve got to weigh up the pros and cons. On the one hand you have spend a lot of time in a queue, on your feet just waiting, but the great thing is at the end of that you are going to meet that guest and have that moment with them. For that reason, I only recommend buying the photo opportunities you really, really want. It’s worth bearing in mind that if you plan on making the con an annual event then the chances are it will only take a couple of years to complete the set.

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Fans waiting to ask Misha & Jared a question during the stage talk

The highlights of this con are definitely the stage talks, with each guest – sometimes a couple at once – taking to the stage and answer the eagerly awaiting fans. The talks are free, but I advise you to get there early, each one we went to was packed out with people standing all around the room when seats ran out. Honestly, it could have done with a bigger room, but I guess that is a venue issue. For those positioned right at the back, each talk is filmed and projected on to white screens, so even if Misha seems to a mere dot, you can watch the screens so you don’t miss out on the action.

For the Misha and Jared talk I got to hang backstage and would like to pass on my sympathies to poor ol’ Scott. Scott was the host of the talks, introducing the guests and making announcements. The downside of this role was when he had to let the crowd know when things were running late, which didn’t always go down well. He also had the tough job of trying to get the guest of stage when their time was up, unfortunately this was met with boos from the fans. Bless him, he did a great job despite this.

Misha Collins during the stage talk
Misha Collins during the stage talk

This brings me to the issue of timings. I imagine putting on such an event takes a ridiculous amount planning and time-tabling, this inevitably means some things don’t run on schedule. Whether this is the fault of the organisers or (more likely) the guests I can’t say for sure, but late starts meant everything else from the lounges to photo ops were pushed back or rushed. The good thing about Rogue Events is that if you pay for your photo op, you are going to get it, even it that means some of the guests staying later to get them finished. It is important for anyone attending to follow the @rogueeventslive account, this is used throughout the con to communicate photo op, autographs and lounge calls, as well as informing people who has won the number of competitions held over the span of three days.

Cosplay was something that I actually expected to see more of, I’ve included a few pictures below of some we were able to catch up with – yes I had to run through the hotel chasing people blissfully unaware I wanted a picture. The cosplay levels don’t compare to the ones you would see at general conventions, but it doesn’t mean that weren’t appreciated and commented on.

Overall I stand my statement made in my preview article, the Asylum events are an absolute must for fans of Supernatural. It is very different from the typical con and is a more satisfying experience. You can spend as little or as much as you want and are guaranteed a fun and worthwhile experience.

You can purchase tickets for the next Asylum event in October HERE, and if you are a fan of Teen Wolf or Vampire Diaries they also have events for you: Wolfsbane & Insurgence.

Geek Pride Chats to the Guests at Asylum 12

Becca Harper
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Geek Pride Chats to the Guests at Asylum 12

I recently had the pleasure of attending Asylum 12 on behalf of Geek Pride, and what an adventure I had. I would like start by thanking the organisers Rogue Events for their hospitality and being so accommodating, you guys really made our day.

The perks of being the press meant my sidekick and I were able to sit in on the coffee lounges – a room with 20 attendees and and a convention guest. These intimate Q&A’s are a unique experience that though initially daunting are a great opportnuity to pose those questions you’ve been dying to ask.

Let us kick off with Mark Sheppard and if you don’t know who this man is then you need to hand in your geek card now..or watch Firefly, White Collar, Warehouse 13, Doctor Who and of course Supernatural. The most prolific actor in geek TV he is fondly loved and fangirled over for his portrayal of Crowley the King of Hell in CW’s Supernatural.

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Mark Sheppard on stage at A12

Being press we were asked to sit behind the group of attendees and Mark, during the coffee lounge, not a problem at all. However, Mark decided that we were upstaging him and invited us to join the group, for all he comes across as a quick witted grump, the guy is, well, a nice guy.

It was clear that many of the people in the room were nervous, but the ever experienced Mark started by asking us where we were from, making quips and jibes about our home towns. As a group we went on to discuss politics, the British education system, football and freedom of speech. He enthused about his love for British TV and how he would like to do a British show, something Cracker-esque. When asked which his favourite season of Supernatural had been Mark confirmed that the latest run – season 9 – had been his favourite, then joked that his character ends up dead. One statement he did make which I am sure will please you is “The geeks have inherited the Earth”

Next up was Amanda Tapping, I am a huge Stargate fan so you can imagine my excitement and having the opportunity to speak to the legendary Samantha Carter. On sitting down it was clear that Amanda was quite nervous, this was her first Asylum convention and she unfortunately played a character in Supernatural that wasn’t all that well loved – you mess with their angel and the fans are gonna hate you. However, the group felt Naomi somewhat redeemed herself before her death. Which brings me to a little dig Amanda made during her stage talk, “I knew I was going to die, I mean I was a female on the show.” – so very true.

Amanda Tapping as the angel Naomi
Amanda Tapping as the angel Naomi

Stargate SG1 ran for 10 years and having recently watched the entire run again I noticed just how much of a commentary it is on the speed at which technology evolves over a decade – for instance the PC monitors go from being chunky and heavy to the flat screen LCD monitors we use today. I asked Amanda about this and she agreed saying when they started filming the series and it was time to take a trip through the stargate, the cast would get a 45 minute break whilst the crew set up the lighting etc by the end of the series it would just be “right step through, we’ll add it all later” She also confirmed that Chris Judge, who played Teal’c, was a blubbering mess during the filming of the last episode.

There was one topic during the talk that Amanda enthused about and demonstrated a great love for – her charity Sanctuary For Kids. There mission is to improve the lives of children around the world who need protection and are in crisis – those who are exploited, dispossessed and threatened. She talked about the children she met in the home the charity funded in Nepal and how their attitudes and resilience is humbling and makes her feel guilty about getting upset over the little things like traffic; despite their suffering these children are happy and generous. She talked about how proud of the fans she is, many of them running charity events to raise funds.

Osric Chau was the next guest we spoke to and I love this guy, he seems to be as much as a geek as you and I. He waxed lyrical about his love for cosplay and shared his experiences; I was particulary impressed to hear he had cosplayed Princess Bubblegum from Adventure Time and Rapunzel from Tangled. He told us that the people upstairs were concerned that attendees go to cons to meet him and cosplaying may put them off, the up side being he now gets to attend cons for a couple of days so he can cosplay for one.

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He talked about his new out look on life, following a viewing of Yes Man, Osric has decided to, well, say yes to everything. This has resulted in him living China for a while and immersing himself in the culture and language – he demonstrated a little chinese for us – and ending up performing live on stage with very little preparation. He definitely recommends this attitude towards life.

When asked what other TV show he would like to have a part in agreed Game of Thrones but if it is a choice between that or Supernatural, he would always pick Supernatural. My sidekick got to ask him about his role in the crowd funded fan made live action Akira trailer. Osric said it was a lot of fun and he would love to star in a full film version; sadly didn’t get to keep the Kaneda leather jacket. It was also at this moment my sidekick and I out geeked the entire room, having been the only other people to have seen the original Akira, I was quite surprised by this. Overall the time spent with Osric felt more like chatting to a fellow geek then chatting to a well loved actor from a hit TV show and that is a good thing.

The final coffee lounge we sat in on was one I was super excited about, the one and only Sam Winchester himself, Jared Paldalecki. Due to a family emergency last year Jared had to cancel his trip to the UK and so this was the first time I had the opportunity to see him in real life. Boy is he tall, which sounds stupid because obviously he is, but to see just how tall kind of took my breath away. He brought with him his bodyguard Cliff; a big, big man who has his own fan following among the fanbase. This was the first lounge that had been packed out and was clearly full of nervous fans.

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Jared during his stage talk with Misha Collins

Through the discussion we learnt that Jared hates Frozen, having a young son who played it on repeat had turned him against the Disney hit – kids will do that to you. Whilst discussing his travels to and from the UK he suddenly had the realisation that he had left his car in the short term car park at the airport and forgotten to ask his brother to pick it up. He also said he was a huge fan of the fries (or chips as we Brits corrected him) he’d had at a British pub in London. When asked about Jensen Ackles – best mate and brother on the show – Jared agreed that he needed to persuade him to come to the UK for one of these conventions, but for the moment Jensen is enjoying some well deserved family time.

During his stage talk Jared talked about how season 9 is paralleling season 4, Dean thinks he is doing the right thing because his judgement is clouded and when asked if Sam would be the Abel to Dean’s Cain, he kept tight lipped – sometimes silence says it all. He did go to say that the finale of Season 9, the last 5 minutes would make the fans cry. Having seen the finale I now understand why, but I’m not in the habit of spoilers. Finally I will leave you with this, when asked how he would end the show Jared replied “They die, they all have to die”

Overall it was a great experience and a fantastic opportunity for the fans. I highly recommend the guest lounges to con attendees, yes it comes with an extra cost but it is worth it for the unique opportunity for an intimate discussion with the stars of your favourite show.

For more information on the other events run by Rogue Events, visit their website http://www.rogueevent.co.uk/wordpress/ 

 

 

 

 

 

Charlie Cox to play Matt Murdock a.k.a Daredevil

Stephen Brewer
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Charlie Cox to play Matt Murdock a.k.a Daredevil

Daredevil (1) Marvel announced yesterday that actor Charlie Cox (Boardwalk Empire, Stardust), shall be playing the role of Matt Murdoch, in Marvel’s first original TV series on Netflix called ‘Daredevil‘. daredevil-man-without-fear Daredevil which is set in a modern day Hells Kitchen, New York, focuses around Charlie Cox’s character Matt Murdoch, who was blinded as a small child but imbued with extraordinary senses. During the day he fights crime as a lawyer, but at night fights crime as Daredevil, The Man Without Fear. Marvel’s new 13-episode series has Steven S. DeKnight (Spartacus, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel) and Drew Goddard (Cabin in the Woods, Lost) as Executive Producers, whilst Marvel stalwart Jeph Loeb (Agents of SHIELD, Heroes) has helped write the first two episodes.

Daredevil fights Stilt-Man
Daredevil fights Stilt-Man

‘Marvel’s Daredevil‘ is being produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC, it will be interesting to see whether or not this show will become a hit, or merely have a small cult following like Ben Afflecks portrayal of the superhero in the 2003 Daredevil movie. The success of the show could really depend on who they believe their target audience will be, do they play more towards the younger crowd with the masked hero going up against his more costumed foes, such as Electro, Stilt-Man and the Man-Bull? Or will they play more towards the more adult crowd, with the grittier, more realistic portrayal of Daredevil originally brought to us by Frank Miller, with The Kingpin as Daredevil’s arch-enemy. It also begs the question will we see much of one of Daredevil’s most popular antagonists in The Punisher? If so could fans of The Punisher be forgiven for holding out a little hope that Marvel’s Daredevil could be a spring board for a Punisher spin-off? Much like DC’s Arrow was for The Flash. If Marvel play this series right, it has the potential to be very entertaining, let us all just hope that this doesn’t turn out like the 2003 movie, otherwise this could be 13-episodes we will never get back.

Geek Pride Poetry Corner – Post Con Blues

Matt Geary
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Geek Pride Poetry Corner – Post Con Blues

I have been known to dabble in poetry once in a while, when the mood takes me, and after this weekend at MCM London; the mood did take me. Met a lot of cool people, had an amazing time and now I’m back in Manchester on my own (worlds smallest violin), I got some serious Post con Blues, so wrote this.

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Eve Beauregard not looking as sad as me ;o)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Post Con Blues

by Matt Geary

I wake the next day to silence
No talking or laughter fill the air
Just memories of a weekend past 
Just memories of friends far away.

No more meeting new people
Or talking to like minded friends
No more free hugs
Or costumed geeks.
No more random nights
Or unpredictable days
No more feeling like the ‘norm’
No more feeling like you’re home.

And as happiness has filled my heart, sadness percolates through my mind.
For this is the post con blues
BUT this is a beautiful thing….
Counting down the days when I can see you all once more.
Counting down the hours until we can do it all again.

Watch_Dogs Review

Sai Mealing
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Watch_Dogs Review

 

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It’s getting dark and I’ve been chasing this guy for almost 10 minutes now. 5 minutes ago I was pissed off and now I’m absolutely furious. My car stereo is blaring but I’m too focused on the pursuit to notice. As we weave through the Downtown Chicago traffic, I finally see the opportunity I’ve been waiting for.

As he primes to charge through a busy intersection, I raise the traffic bollards with one click of a button and he smashes straight into them. I quickly arrive at the wreckage to find him lying unconscious on the ground after sailing through his car windshield. I seize this opportunity to change vehicles and, to the horror of a flock of shrieking bystanders, proceed to drive over him using his own car. This pursuit is at an end and I want to make sure that the bastard is dead.

Moments like this arrive often in Watch Dogs. An open-world saga where everyone in this virtualised vision of Chicago appears to be either a thug, a criminal or a sexual deviant. After two years of tantalising demo footage, Ubisoft have finally fully introduced their beloved Aiden Pearce to the world.

In the world of Watch Dogs, Aiden is a hacker and a fixer. Someone the dark forces turn to when they don’t feel like getting their hands dirty themselves. After one final heist goes awry, Aiden is left to save his estranged family and himself from the city’s criminal underworld who used to be his employers but now only seek to do him harm. From the start, this gets confusing as Aiden’s intentions and true personality are never completely revealed.

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Perhaps a metaphor for modern day digital Robin Hoods, Aiden is a character who seems just as content stealing from people as he is saving the city. In essence, his openness to pickpocketing innocent bystanders doesn’t make him too far removed from the protagonists of Assassin’s Creed but the modern day backdrop of Watch Dogs makes his actions seem far more sinister.

Indeed, it’s much easier to sympathise with someone who has just had their bank account details stolen from a mobile phone than a faceless resident of renaissance Florence who suddenly finds themselves sans-wallet and the fact that Watch Dogs highly publicised UI profiles every NPC by name, occupation, financial and social status doesn’t help. I have played some dark games in my time but Watch Dogs is the first one that has knowingly enabled me to hijack the life savings of a cancer patient. That was a low point.

Almost everything in Chicago is controlled by the CtOS, a single database that is responsible for controlling all from the traffic lights to the police force. It is Aiden’s unauthorised access to the CtOS that truly empowers him and makes up the majority of the uniqueness and appeal that has made Watch Dogs such an anticipated title for the last two years.

The CtOS is an extremely capable tool and allows for some truly inventive use of strategy however Ubisoft Montreal have also been clever not to overly force it on the player. In the right hands, an assault rifle is just as likely to get you out of a jam as device hacking however being able to inflict some real misery with just a simple touch of a button remains appealing throughout the game is likely going to be the route that most players take.

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Visually, Watch Dogs manages to be both awe inspiring and dull at the same time. At night the city of Chicago gleams and looks particularly spectacular on high end PC’s and next gen consoles however the sections of the game that take place during daylight are not especially impressive and many of the character models and textures reveal that developer attention may not have always been equally divided.

Where Watch Dogs suffers the most is in it’s obvious requirement to meet the ageing specification of last generation consoles. For the most part, this feels like a game that was created for the Xbox 360 and then upscaled later to add fancy features for newer and more powerful hardware. Other than a slightly more vibrant city landscape and an increased number of multiplayer features, next gen early adopters are unlikely to find anything here that to fully justify for their investment. On every platform the game still just feels mostly like a homage to Grand Theft Auto V.

It has to be said that the amount of obvious inspiration that this game takes from GTA V cannot be understated. Mechanically it feels very much like a Rockstar game whilst retaining an Ubisoft visual style. Vehicles handle very much like those in Los Santos however where Watch Dogs fails compared with GTA is in it’s characterisation. Aiden’s partner-in-crime Clara Lille is your typical one-dimensional ‘sexy hacker chick’ and could easily be mistaken for a Franco version of the part Angelina Jolie played in 1995. Likewise, the game’s main antagonist is the most obvious and clichéd sadistic old bad guy that I’ve seen in quite some time.

It’s always nice to see a game that takes an interesting approach to multi-player though and Watch Dogs follows Assassin’s Creed by including more than just a run of the mill and entirely inappropriate online death match mode. The most popular 1-on-1 option offers players the ability to hack to each other and perform cyber attacks during single player sessions. An unwilling recipient then needs to find and eliminate the hacker before the upload is 100% complete and ever narrowing GPS tracker and a block on multiplayer hacking during missions prevents any possibility of griefing.

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Ubisoft’s now trademark system of distracting you with side quests and collectibles is also ever present but somehow actually manages to be fun in this game. At any time, you can be tempted to stop a crime in progress or raid a local meth factory and the ingenious possibilities to complete such missions using CtOS really open up. I managed to take down one high-profile target by using street cameras and a hacked police radio to cause an all out war between a gang and some of Chicago’s finest. It was just a case of taking out the ring leader myself before standing idly by to watch the police do the rest of the work and burn the place to the ground.

Incidentally, PC users should keep in mind that a lot of technical issues have emerged regarding the PC version of this game game and it’s overall performance and lack of optimisation, especially on AMD hardware. Those who are interested in playing the PC version but haven’t pre-ordered may want to look around and ensure that the game will work to a decent standard on their rig before parting with any cash. There have been reports of huge frame rate drops and weak results even on high-end gaming PC’s.

Watch Dogs is perhaps best described as a hybrid between Assassin’s Creed and Grand Theft Auto. It’s a game without any real identity of it’s own and one that seems to miss the impossibly high mark that Ubisoft’s marketing team created for it. That’s not to say that it isn’t a fun game however, because it is and it’s one that I’m likely to keep on playing for quite some time. Those who go in looking for the next revelation in gaming are unlikely to find what they’re looking for but many of the game’s technical flaws are clearly due to the limits of last gen hardware and Watch Dogs remains an interesting and thought provoking IP that will hopefully move closer to finding it’s feet with the inevitable sequel.

The Geek Pride Comic Blog – 24/05/2014

Ben Fee
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The Geek Pride Comic Blog – 24/05/2014

Welcome back to the Geek Pride Comic Blog! This week we dive into all things Hellblazer, work out some of our frustration with George Lucas and ponder the merits of casting David Beckham in a comic book movie…

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Cristina Andreea Bogdan: I’ve gone retro this week. After reading most of Justice League Dark, I picked up Hellblazer and had a fit over how good it is by comparison. So…yeap. Retro.

Ben Fee: Are you reading from the beginning or jumping into Ennis and Milligan’s stuff?

CAB: I started from the very first issue, got to issue 10, read that one and took a bit of a break (until tomorrow that is). I can’t start a story in the middle of it, even if there are different people writing it. It’s so good, though!!

BF: I know, I love Jamie Delano’s stuff – heck, the entire series doesn’t really put a foot wrong until really later on. It’s a bit sad that DC decided to reboot John Constantine – until then I think he was the only comics character to have aged in real time…

CAB: Yeah, I don’t get it. I mean I was all hyped about the chance of starting a comic “in real time”, as in, not something that needed years of research, but then I started Hellblazer and went: “The fuck, DC? Were you dropped on your head or something?” I suppose they might have angled for a TV series and they wanted a younger man to play the part, so they figured a reboot was needed, but…no. That’s like rebooting Batman and not killing his parents. Eh, at least Matt Ryan doesn’t look twelve.

BF: Just watched the trailer and…meh. Too much Harry Dresden meets the Winchester brothers for me. I’d like to have seen him as more scumbag and less rugged antihero. Although I reckon he’ll be joining Tennant, Cumberbatch and Hiddleston on the wall of sexy British men.

CAB: You forgot Joseph Morgan, but that’s excusable since his show is utter shit. I kinda like the trailer, mostly because I liked Dresden, the books and the show and I am a huge Winchester fan! I do hope they’ll keep up with some of the Hellblazer history. They had the Asylum! I read issue 8, I think, the one with him remembering what happened in Ravenscar and I was: DAMN! I guess we’ll see this fall how it goes.

Andy Haigh: I have written at great length about how great Hellblazer is. John Constantine is hands down one of the best characters in comics full stop.

BF: Did you ever read Planetary where a pseudo-John Constantine attends pseudo-Superman’s funeral and as he’s talking slowly morphs into Spider Jerusalem? Epicity.

AH: Not only is Constantine a great character but there’s so many other great characters too but I don’t want to spoil things for you Cristina.

CAB: Yes, yes. No spoilers. I can summon demons too! But on a more serious note, he is awesome. I only ever heard of Constantine some years ago, might have been Keanu’s movie, but I am happy I started reading it. Though that movie kinda sucked.

BF: Aw, I kind of liked it. It was like if a child had read it and tried to write his own Hellblazer story.constantine24

AH: I think the film worked really well in a “Ultimate Hellblazer” kind of way. It does a really good job of establishing its world, how it works and the characters that dwell in it. I love the idea of Hell being an alternate dimension that’s just the same only it looks like it’s a bombsite in the throes of an unending nuclear blastwave.

CAB: Well, I guess it was good back then, cause I had no idea what Hellblazer was about, but I am not a fan of Keanu. He’s a bit wooden.

AH: The guy makes Pinocchio seem like a real boy.

BF: That guy is one of my favourite people. You know he gave away $35 million dollars to the special effects & makeup staff on The Matrix? Said he didn’t need it, could live off what he’d made for the next few centuries.

AH: I love his mentality towards life and his altruism but his acting not so much.

CAB: He is a great guy, but he’s not that much of an actor. I know he did amazing things, donating money to everyone in need, helping out friends and crew members and such. He’s a hero in his own way. But…he’s still not a great actor, lest the part actually asks for next to no facial expressions. Of course, that doesn’t mean I didn’t like Sweet November *cough* I’m a sap *cough* or A Walk in the Clouds, cause…sap. But he’s not that good.

BF: Speaking of people who are no good, I hear Tom Cruise is amazeballs in the All You Need Is Kill movie

CAB: Haven’t seen that one.

BF: its new. i think they’re calling it “Edge of Tomorrow” which sounds like a Star Trek episode.

CAB: It’s not the one where he keeps reliving things, is it? I watched the trailer of that one.

AH: That film looks so utterly bland I’m so sick of seeing the trailer everytime I go to the cinema. Emily Blunt looks kickass but aside from that it’s just a bit meh

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AH: I’m finally reading Alec Longstreth’s Basewood and it is glorius by the way. It’s everything that’s great about indie comics in an oversized hardback. Also generally superhero comics annoy the piss out of me or rather the Big Two’s approach to them  with their endless BIG EVENT MAJOR DRAMA ACTUALLY NOT REALLY bullshit..

BF: Basewood looks cool! Wolf-Dragons!

AH: The art is amazing, it’s so intricately detailed.

CAB: Oh, haven’t heard of that one. Is it…multiple issues?

BF: http://www.alec-longstreth.com/basewood/

BF: who does that artwork remind me of?

AH: It reminds me a little of Georges Remi but more detailed.

BF: I was like “who?” but, yeah definitely Herge

CAB: Damn, getting Basewood costs more in shipping than the actual thing, but it does look good. I just read the guy did a kickstarter campaign to fund the publishing.

BF: Amazon Free Shipping yo!

AH: I did an article about it, I knew nobody read my stuff.

CAB: It never ships free to the wast wasteland I live in. Or I assume that’s what they think, since I can never get anything from them. They just don’t want my money.

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Mike Orvis: Just finished Secret Service, man. Then saw the film trailer and wondered if they actually read the comic at all.

CAB: I think when making a movie adaptation the guy/girl behind it has someone else read the source material, then asks said person for some cliff notes. Bit how like The Hobbit came to be.

BF: Woah, David Beckham is in the Secret Service movie? What the actual fuck?

MO: Yeah. and it has nothing to do with the story at all. fucking annoyed doesn’t cover it.

Callum Tyndall: Got to be honest, out of context I thought the trailer was fairly amusing. Was left more than a little dubious though when it claimed to be coming from Mark Millar

MO: Read the comic, dude, it’s incredible.

CAB: Oh, I found it on BD, six issues, right? Too bad it’s 199 days to go until the hardback is actually available. Oh, well. Blessed be Comic Rack.

CT: Definitely need to take a look. It does just seem though that Millar’s stuff is too “adult” for cinema so they like the core idea but they want to do their own thing with it that won’t limit their viewers. It’s like Kick-Ass, I thought the film was great and it was pretty dark, but the comic is so much grimmer.

MO: The comic starts off with the kidnap of Mark Hamill. His kidnappers then berate him about the prequel trilogy. ‘Nuff said.

CAB: Damn it, so many good comics, so little time!! Also, I blame Andy for my Hellblazer addiction. Well, I mostly blame myself, but Andy is convenient, so we’ll pin it on him.

CT: That’s pretty awesome. In a similar vein, I still love that there’s a scene in an issue of Deadpool where he shoots a guy for saying he likes the Staw Wars prequels then holds a gun to the other guy in the room forcing him to repeat that Jar Jar Binks is an abomination

CAB: Jar Jar Binks is George Lucas’s middle finger for the fans. That’s my theory, at least.

CAB: I meant the embodiment of his middle finger.

CT: I think Jar Jar just goes to show what happens when no one is willing to tell you to sit down, shut up and look at what you’re doing. Also, some seriously racist ideas going on there. But anyway…

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CT: I got my hands on Things To Do In A Retirement Home Trailer Park When You’re 29 and Unemployed which I believe, though memory may fail me, Andy reviewed for us at some point. It’s pretty damn good, very poignant. Lots of feels.

AH: I did indeed Callum I met the writer at Thought Bubble last year. It’s one of the best portrayals of loss and mortality in sequential art.

CAB: That’s one very long title  But it sounds like something I would like to read. Because I am giving up on Justice League Dark and I need to fill the void.

CT: It’s about this guy having to come to terms with his father dying and having to look after him as he does so..

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MO: I picked up Suicide Squad Vol 3 yesterday. still waiting on Deathstroke

CT: Suicide squad is awesome. I just love King Shark. Everything is made better by a giant man eating mutant shark

AH: I thought Suicide Squad was great to begin with, then got better when Ales Kot started writing and then DC went “no we can’t have you writing all this good stuff please leave” and it rapidly went downhill.

CT: Yeah, it was pretty damn hard hitting. I really liked the kind of out of body, psychedelic scenes and the transformations throughout

BF: I’d not heard of Ales Kot before but he did the infinite comics backup for issue 2 of Original Sin for Marvel. Pretty interesting but hampered somewhat by the format.

AH: His best stuff is for Image. Wild Children, Change and Zero have more going on than half of the Big Two’s output.

More fun and games next week, but in the meantime check out more from today’s contributors here:

Ben Fee; Callum Tyndall, Cristina Bogdan; Andy Haigh; Mike Orvis

Edgar Wright and Marvel go their separate ways

Daniel Delargy
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Edgar Wright and Marvel go their separate ways

In 2006, Edgar Wright was named by Marvel Studios as the director for Ant-Man. Now, just as the much delayed project seemed to be picking up speed with the test footage shown at Comic-Con 2012 and cast announcements with the likes of Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas, there have been reports that Wright has left the project.

Edgar Wright

In a joint statement released on the 23/05/2014, both Marvel and Wright announced that they had parted ways due to differences in creative visions of the film. “The decision to move on is amicable and does not impact the release date on July 17, 2015. A new director will be announced shortly.”

This wouldn’t be the first time a Marvel film has changed director – back in 2008 director Matthew Vaughn left Thor to be replaced by Kenneth Branagh. Even the sequel, Thor: The Dark World, found itself director-less when Patty Jenkins left over creative differences, allowing Alan Taylor to step in and take over.

However, despite the split being “amicable” it still comes as no less a surprise – Edgar Wright has been attached to the film for eight years, and Wright had often been referred by Marvel Studios as an integral part of the film’s progression – the Comic-Con footage was not only to demonstrate how Ant-Man could work on the big-screen, but also how Wright had envisioned the character.

Ant-Man in action!

The new director still has yet to be announced.

Stranded Review

Sai Mealing
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Stranded Review

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As a young boy, I was always raised to not say anything if I couldn’t say anything nice and so for this reason I have chosen to keep this review much shorter than most of the others that I’ve written.

Since indie game development really took off during the last generation, the increasing might of legal digital distribution has changed the industry. For the first time in decades, smaller developers now have the freedom to express themselves and self-publish games that would likely never be greenlit by a major publisher. The effect of this is that PC and console owners are now able to access the kind of interactive experiences which would have once been considered beyond the limits of the medium.

Oh Bollocks....
Oh Bollocks….

Of course, the other side of this is that some indie developers use these advances to release games that aren’t really fit for purpose. As much as it wants to be otherwise, Stranded joins the ranks of the poor quality indie releases and botched Early Access projects that demonstrate why more rigid distribution platform controls aren’t always necessarily a bad thing.

Developed by Peter Moorhead, Stranded takes place on a lost and distant planet after a lone pilot has crash landed. Overall presentation is very Kubrick-inspired and the aim is navigate the planet on foot and solve a small series of puzzles that will determine your survival. Gameplay mechanics are limited to a very simple, and excruciatingly slow, point and click movement system and all interaction takes place via an electronic communications device that is attached to the protagonists arm.

And that’s pretty much it. The player solves a small number of simple puzzles and then the credits roll. Early Steam feedback suggests that the game can be completed within 15 minutes, although my review play through lasted just a little over one hour. At a price of $7.99, this feels like nothing short of daylight robbery and the game lacks most of the creativity or polish that others in the same bracket often use to justify their price tag.

Sure why not. I've got nothing else better to do.
Sure why not. I’ve got nothing else better to do.

The 2D pixel style is tired and predictable and although there is occasionally some nice artwork on display, the retro-look is now becoming just a bit too over done for my liking. As an industry, we are approaching the point where visuals like this have lost their charm and are starting to look just a little too overly familiar and stale. The audio, in contrast, is absolutely this game’s best feature and succeeded far more in captivating me than any of the gameplay did.

In short, Stranded is a game which I absolutely cannot recommend. It has cemented the concerns that I have held for a while that some indie developers now just seem to be either looking for a quick buck or to market products based on their own passions without considering whether or not those products are actually marketable. The optimist in me hopes that Peter Moorhead is an example of the latter but Stranded regardless represents a slow and painful answer to a question that nobody asked. In a time when players are consistently bombarded with an over-abundance of choice, Stranded really is best avoided.

Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Review

Nick Hanchet
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Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Review

Final Fantasy X has, since it’s initial release back in 2001, been regarded as one of the defining moments in both the Final Fantasy franchise and the RPG genre as a whole. Being the first game in the series to feature voice acting, the first to break away from the conventional levelling-up system commonly found within the genre and, most notably, the first to feature on the relatively new Playstation 2, Square (as they were still known back then) had a lot to prove. Fortunately, they came out swinging, and delivered on each of their punches. Does this HD remaster do the same?

Final Fantasy X delivers a beautiful, emotional and thrilling story from start to finish. Accompanied by a varied cast through your travels in Spira, the tale that is laid out in front of you never ceases to excite and give you reason to venture on. Sure, you’ll want to take in the sights, and that will only lead to random battles, as expected in FF games. The battles use a ‘Conditional Turn Based’ system, much like the standard ATB found in FFIX, although it’s turn based as opposed to playing out in real time. The speed of your characters and certain attacks decide the attacking order of your comrades and enemies, making it just that bit more strategic in certain battles. The easy switching of the characters mid-battle to accommodate for varying scenarios during a battle makes this feel more like a team effort, which is something previous games missed out on. Once you had a favourite team in, say, FFVII, you’d usually stick to it and ignore a certain character (Cait Sith) meaning they couldn’t level up. On the fly decision makings in battle, accompanied by the beautiful graphics and varied enemy design, make each battle enjoyable and exciting.

Yes, it features “that” laughing scene…

Final Fantasy X-2 on the other hand features a much more jovial attitude towards it’s story. Its often silly, nonsensical story is a direct contrast from that found in it’s prequel. Being the first game in the entirety of the Final Fantasy series to be a direct sequel was a risky move that, unfortunately, didn’t pay off as well as expected. Nonetheless, the game still took place in the diverse land of Spira, featuring characters new and old alike, and changed up enough of the core mechanics to make this different enough to warrant a purchase. Regarding combat, we’re “limited” to three characters, being everyone’s favourite summoner Yuna, her Al-Bhed cousin Riku and new-comer tough-nut Paine. I say limited… Each character has access to numerous ‘Dress Spheres’ that they can equip, granting them different stats, skills and, of course, a new look. This style is reminiscent of FFIII’s jobs, and it works incredibly well, once again adding a new level of strategy to the harder battles, as well as increasing the amount of time you have to grind for. But hey, it’s an RPG, we love grinding, right?

The HD remaster offers a beautiful HD coat over everything, as well as some redone character models and an exquisite remastered soundtrack. Don’t worry, ‘To Zanarkand’ and ‘Otherworld’ haven’t been touched and are still as iconic as ever. Other themes though, such as the battle theme, have been given extra musical layers on top of that instantly recognisable tune that we’re all accustomed to. Whilst I do love the redone audio tracks, I would have loved a setting within the options to be able to swap back to the original themes, not to compare but for nostalgia’s sake. The graphics are as good-looking as ever, with the main cast having the character models upgraded and polished to perfection. Tidus is more tanned, Yuna’s distinctive eyes are more noticeable than ever, and Wakka’s hair seems to stand just that bit taller. The same polish hasn’t been given to all the other characters though. Minor ones, as expected, aren’t nearly the same quality as the main cast, but during close-up conversations involving these supporting characters, the difference in quality is enough to break you out of the story somewhat. This disconnect is only temporary however, thanks to the high quality of all the other components helping bring these games to life.

Example of the remastered models

The game, regardless of platform, also comes with some added extra features. Whilst X just comes with all the features of the International version, such as the expert sphere grid and additional bosses, the bulk of the new content can be found within X-2. Featuring a creature creator, new dress spheres, new mini games and even a new end-game dungeon, aptly named ‘Last Mission’. The last two additions to this already excellent package help expand the FFX/X-2 universe, with ‘The Eternal Calm’ movie help bridging the events of X and X-2 together, and finally an audio drama named ‘Final Fantasy X: Will’.

Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster is a must have for anyone even vaguely interested in RPG’s. Featuring some of the most diverse characters within the Final Fantasy series, arguably the most recognisable music that Nobuo Uematsu and his peers have ever created and a beautiful, interesting story, all these come together to create a defining example of a timeless game that age definitely hasn’t slowed down.

 

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