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Mutant and Proud – Calling All X-Men Cosplayers!

TinkerTonks
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Mutant and Proud – Calling All X-Men Cosplayers!

Take off your blinders brothers and sisters and dig out your spandex, because this May, we need you. I’m calling my fellow homo superiors to come and join the ranks of a world record attempt at the London X-Men: Days of Future Past première.

Taking place on Monday May 12th at approximately 12pm, two avid X-Men fans aim to create the largest gathering of X-Men cosplayers to set a brand new Guinness World Record. Whether you’re an avid fan of mutant and human cohabitation, or want to wipe humanity from the face of the earth to claim your mutagenic birthright, now is the time to take a stand and be counted.

Meeting up at Leicester Square, the very same place where DOFP is set to première later that evening, this really is a once in a lifetime opportunity to make history and have oodles of fun whilst doing it. What’s more, there’s also a music video being filmed too, with some very special input, so start working on those dance moves to dazzle the masses! Mutations are groovy, so your boogie better be too!

Honestly what are you waiting for? Head on over to the Facebook page now to join the cause and find out all the nitty gritty details about, what, where and when, the event’s going to happen!

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Third Hobbit Film Officially Titled ‘The Battle of the Five Armies’

Becca Harper
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Third Hobbit Film Officially Titled ‘The Battle of the Five Armies’

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Peter Jackson has taken to his Facebook page to announce the official title of the last instalment in the Hobbit trilogy. Originally called There And Back Again it seems this is likely to be kept for the title of the three movie box set. Instead he has announced the official title is The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Here is the full announcement:

Inside Information…

Our journey to make The Hobbit Trilogy has been in some ways like Bilbo’s own, with hidden paths revealing their secrets to us as we’ve gone along. “There and Back Again” felt like the right name for the second of a two film telling of the quest to reclaim Erebor, when Bilbo’s arrival there, and departure, were both contained within the second film. But with three movies, it suddenly felt misplaced—after all, Bilbo has already arrived “there” in the “Desolation of Smaug”.

When we did the premiere trip late last year, I had a quiet conversation with the studio about the idea of revisiting the title. We decided to keep an open mind until a cut of the film was ready to look at. We reached that point last week, and after viewing the movie, we all agreed there is now one title that feels completely appropriate.

And so: “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” it is.

As Professor Tolkien intended, “There and Back Again” encompasses Bilbo’s entire adventure, so don’t be surprised if you see it used on a future box-set of all three movies.

Before then however, we have a film to finish, and much to share with you. It’s been a nice quiet time for us—Jabez and I happily editing away in a dark cave in Wellington—but those halcyon days are quickly coming to an end. It will soon be time to step into the light. Expect to see and hear much about The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies in the coming months.

And there’s also The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Extended Cut, which we’re in the process of finishing, with over 25 mins of new scenes, all scored with original music composed by Howard Shore.

It’ll be a fun year!

First Look at Spin-Off Series ‘Supernatural: Bloodlines’

Becca Harper
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First Look at Spin-Off Series ‘Supernatural: Bloodlines’

Way back sometime last summer CW announced a spin-off of that hit TV show featuring the Winchesters and an the naive angel, Castiel, Currently in it’s 9th season, Supernatural is one of those shows that not many people seem to watch but gloats one of the biggest fandoms around.

Spin-off Supernatural: Bloodlines is to take a different approach from that of it’s mother show. Based in just one city, Chicago, the synopsis describes the show as various mafia style monster families that, unknown to humans, run the underbelly of the city. The families are being tracked by a newly minted Hunter who’s trying to rid Chicago of anything or anyone supernatural.

In January executive producer Jeremy Carver had this to say, “We’ve created a world that feels like the Supernatural world yet has so much more story to be told that doesn’t trample on the mother ship’s terrain. You’ve got two shows that are going to be able to exist in total harmony, I think.” Whilst this spin off is to have a whole new cast there will be opportunity for Sam and Dean to make an appearance “Most spin-offs, you spin characters out and create a show about them. Jared and Jensen will be in the spin-off, but it’s an entirely different cast of characters,”

Here is the very first peek at the next episode of Supernatural (9×20) airing in the US next Tuesday, the episode will act as a backdoor pilot into the spin off series.

Well fans what do you think? Excited about a spin-off or will it just leave you longing for Sam & Dean to turn up? As always share your thoughts below or on our facebook post.

 

Robert Downey Jr & Mark Ruffalo Tweet From Set of Avengers: Age of Ultron

Becca Harper
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Robert Downey Jr & Mark Ruffalo Tweet From Set of Avengers: Age of Ultron

Our two favourite science bros are giving us a peep into filming of Age of Ultron, naturally avoiding spoilers. If you aren’t already following these two awesome dudes then hop to it @RobertDowneyJr & @MarkRuffalo. Seriously, I love it when actors love what they are doing and these two are clearly having a whale of a time. Here is what we have so far, enjoy.

 

 

 

 

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad is free on Steam for the next 24 hours

Sai Mealing
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Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad is free on Steam for the next 24 hours

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We love our freebies here at Geek Pride. You’re bound to find us cruising for swag at any of the events we attend and free games are always welcome, just as long as they’re legit of course.

For the next 24 hours, the kind folks at Tripwire Interactive are offering their game Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad completely free of charge. No catches, no tricks, nada. Just press the Install Game button to add the game to your Steam account and it’s yours for life.

Red Orchestra 2 is an extremely popular PC-exclusive shooter set in the middle of a World War II when the Russians and the Nazis were busy kicking the shite out of each other over land or some such. As a game, it is as brutal as it is compelling and does away with the Hollywood heroism of Call of Duty and Battlefield to create a more realistic experience, accurate weapons and some often harrowing scenes.

The multiplayer is equally popular and you should have no problems finding a match on any given night of the week. Add to that there will also be a heap of new players jumping on board soon because of this offer and it’s likely that you won’t find any more fun and free activities to pursue this week that don’t involve taking your clothes off.

This is an official offer being ran by the game’s publisher and will end at approximately 6pm UK time tomorrow. To download the game visit: http://store.steampowered.com/app/35450/

Wales Comic Con: Sunday 27th April

Hani Fearon
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Wales Comic Con: Sunday 27th April

10255183_807792529249393_1901527643620802880_oSunday 27th April sees the arrival of what is fast becoming one of my favourite annual events, Wales Comic Con. The event, which was first organised by Jaime Milner with Mercury Promotions in 2008, is held annually at Glyndŵr University in Wrexham, just outside of Chester in the North West. Last year’s event had over 60 celebrity guests and welcomed over 8000 visitors, a huge number for what is a relatively small venue in comparison to many of the MCM events across the UK.

ADLARD_©Olivier-Roller-1024x682One of the many highlights of Wales Comic Con is always the variety of celebrity guests at the event, from film and TV stars to renowned artists and writers. This year is certainly no different with Charlie Adlard, the comic book artist behind Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead series amongst other work, being right at the top of my list. Adlard will be signing for free as well as doing a limited amount of sketches on the day for £10, which is an absolute steal for an original drawing from the artist. He will also be taking part in a Q&A Panel, which is set to be another highlight of the day. Luckily for you lot, Geek Pride will be interviewing Charlie Adlard on Sunday, here’s hoping I don’t fangirl all over him.

Another interesting guest at the event is Jonathan Ross, who is usually more well known for his television and radio shows rather than his comic books such as America’s Got Powers and the Revenge mini-series. Ross is another guest that will be signing for free, with copies of Revenge available on sale at the event, as well as taking part in a Q&A in the afternoon.

There are plenty of other artists and writers to check out on the day, with popular guests such as Neil Edwards, Lee Townsend and Mike Carey, amongst many others that have been involved in everything from Spider-Man and The Avengers to 2000AD and Judge Dredd.

1896982_768092626552717_478736811_nFor the film and TV fans, Wales Comic Con does no disappoint. Highlights this year include Alison Mack from Smallville, Zach Galligan of Gremlins and Warwick Davis, a fan favourite at the event. Jesse from Storage Hunters will be appearing, along with other new guests such as Paul Amos (Lost Girl), Marc Silk (the voice of Johnny Bravo!) and an unusual addition, Shane Richie. There are also stars from Game of Thrones, Battlestar Galactica, Red Dwarf, Star Wars, Torchwood, The Hobbit, Harry Potter, Atlantis and more, as well as plenty of wrestling legends of offer. The list seems endless, so make sure to check out the official website for a full look at everyone appearing on the day.

The huge list of guests will be signing autographs on the day, with a full price list available on the website. There will also be photo ops for many of them which can be booked earlier in the day, with varied prices and shoot times also listed online. Queues for guests will no doubt be lengthy, so get down early to avoid missing out. This also goes for the Q&A panels, with visitors advised to get down at least an hour early for some of the more popular talks, which are always a great experience.

It’s not all about the guests though, with plenty more on offer at Wale Comic Con. There will be over 100 stalls, selling everything from geeky merchandise and comics to jewellery and clothing. There are also plenty of displays at the event, including a Tardis, Superherobots from Robot Wars and some fantastic cars which are always popular. This years cars include Supernatural’s Chevy Impala, Knight Rider‘s KITT Car and the Bumblebee Camaro from Transformers.

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With so much on offer, 2014’s Wales Comic Con is not to be missed. There’s even an Official Aftershow Party which is held at the University’s Centenary Club Bar, featuring a geeky pub quiz and live performance from Lord of the Rings actor; Sam Comery. Tickets for this are only £4 and will be available from the Wales Comic Con merch desk. Unfortunately, tickets for the event are no longer available online but some will still be available on the day. With early bird entry from 10am and general entry at 11am, expect lengthy queues if you show up without a ticket, so get there early. The venue is in close proximity of Wrexham General train station and easy to find.

I, for one, can’t wait for Wales Comic Con this weekend and some of the great things on offer. I’ll be covering the event for Geek Pride, so keep an eye out for me, sporting my GP lanyard and awesome tee. As well as interviewing celebrity guests, I’ll be talking to visitors and hoping to get photos of those in cosplay, so don’t be shy! If you can’t make it, don’t worry, we’ll have some reviews and interviews online following the event.

For now, head over to www.walescomiccon.com or the Wales Comic Con Facebook page for more information and details regarding guests, photo ops and Q&As. You can also follow the organisers on Twitter (@walescomiccon) for the latest updates.

Isometrics: 25 Years, 4 Colours, One Indelible Imprint: Looking Back at the Nintendo Game Boy

David Rose
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Isometrics: 25 Years, 4 Colours, One Indelible Imprint: Looking Back at the Nintendo Game Boy

Welcome back to Isometrics, the sufficient shades of grey self-indulgently screening the literary world of computer and video games. Today (the day in which I’m writing this so likely yesterday to you future people reading this) marks the 25th birthday of Nintendo’s humble grey brick, the Game Boy, a console that not only revolutionised gaming by taking it out of the living room, but kept on innovating and innovating and smashing far more technologically superior competition for twelve years straight. Not even the Atari 2600, one of only two games systems actively developed for longer, can claim that. What made it such a cultural icon, and why did it endure for so long? To answer that, we need to take a trip back to the beginning…

In the beginning, there were a few prototypical games, and they were good( though played on massive lumps of hardware that at best were the size of a video player and made partly of wood). Someone heard the cries of parents trying to get their children to play outside and made a system that could be taken with them. That someone… surprisingly wasn’t Nintendo, who were at this point making japan-only Pong consoles and tiny little LCD games. Instead the call was answered by Milton Bradley, the board game manufacturer, who created something called the MicroVision, an entire game system with interchangable games that fit snug in the palm of your baseball mitt. Yes the first portable games console as we knew it came ten years before the release of the Game Boy in late 1979.

From the great digital minds behind Connect Four!
From the great digital minds behind Connect Four!

Now I hear you cry out in horror that you’ve never heard of such a device before, and the reason why was that it wasn’t very good. The issue with it is that the screen resolution was tiny. So small in fact that every single game had to be some form of brick bouncing game since no other shape could be drawn on the system. The well of games you could make with bricks dried up and the MicroVision was off the market by 1981. A similar fate befell the 1984 Japan-only system, the Epoch Game Pocket Computer, which flopped so terribly in Japan that only 5 games were ever made for it.

Not that the Game Boy was a bastion of power either. It used the already 12 years old Zilog Z80 processor, which powered Clive Sinclair’s ZX80 nearly ten years before. It could not display colour either, instead displaying four shades of grey on a delightfully (a word used under advisement) yellow tinted screen. This might not have looked so positively ancient had the Atari Lynx not been released a month later in glorious colour, with sprite scaling and 3D polygons and all that magical stuff. As is the natural state of things, the powerful technological marvel was thoroughly destroyed by the cheaper system with far more games and longer battery life.

You need less a pocket, more a trolley to carry it in...
You need less a pocket, more a trolley to carry it in…

It might be unfair to characterise all of the Game Boy’s success by the fact it didn’t drain its Double-As as quickly as everything else, but it didn’t hurt. After all, once you’re addicted to Tetris on the train, the last thing you want is for the game to suddenly croak after less than an hour’s play, eating up batteries like some kind of lead-acid gourmand. This was the sad fate of people who played the Lynx, the Sega Game Gear, the TurboExpress, the Nomad and to a degree the game.com, each journey necessitating bringing a sack of Duracells.

Another, more important aspect that probably cemented the success of the Game Boy is that due to its simplicity and cheapness, it was easy to make games tailored to the strengths of the system. This lead to a wealth of punchy takes on popular console fare designed to be played in short bursts. You got games like Super Mario Land 2, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and even Metal Gear Solid all taking what made their console predecessors work so well and succeeded in translating that onto a tiny screen.

Oh, and some little game about bug collecting was released or something...
Oh, and some little game about bug collecting was released or something…

In the end though, perhaps it just adapted better than everything else. It was tough enough to survive in space and yet small enough to fit in the side pockets of your cargo pants. It fit entire worlds full of imaginary monsters or intruiging spectacle, rewarding how much skill and imagination you put into it

You know, there’s another medium you can take anywhere which contains entire worlds…

It’s books. try them. Are you surprised the humble GameBoy lasted this long? drop us a comment below or berate Dave on twitter @huggydave

World of Warcraft’s 2,057 Achievements Unlocked

Nick Hanchet
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World of Warcraft’s 2,057 Achievements Unlocked

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My first experience with World of Warcraft was during my GCSE study leave, shortly after the release of The Burning Crusade back in 2007 (Yes, do the maths; I am most definitely the Geek Pride baby, rattle and all) and I immediately fell in love with it. My brief trial period ended with me wanting more, resulting in the Battle Chest being purchased the very same day, and numerous hours were spent roaming the lands of Azeroth instead of my much needed exam revision. Hey ho.

See, I have quite an addictive personality, and this includes the dreaded real world as well as games.  In an RPG, such as Final Fantasy or indeed WoW, if I can better my character by collecting ‘X’ number of berries, or slaying ‘Y’ number of goblins, I’ll do it. In a game the size of WoW, it was heaven. Unfortunately, after countless nights spent plugging away at the system, and numerous arguments between us, we both fell out of love with each other and decided to go our separate ways. I wish I could say heartbreak ensued just to continue the drama, but I most likely found a new obsession a few hours later. I’m fickle like that.

Anyway, at the point in time in which I joined, achievements hadn’t been implemented just yet. It was a late Burning Crusade/pre- Wrath of the Lich King patch that included achievements for players, giving yet more depth and goals for those that had spent countless hours ignoring their loved ones for their lovely Tauren or, my personal favourite, Blood Elf (Horde FTW!). Years later, the achievement count would reach 2,057, with an extra 300 feats of strength just for bragging rights. I know I have a completionist attitude, but had I played at the time they were introduced, I most likely would’ve just let them be and accumulated them naturally, through simple, normal progression. Not everyone is of the same mind, however.

Enter Хируко, a Russian WoW player with a thirst for both WoW and achievements that, in fact, mean next to nothing in the real world. Having unlocked all 2,057 achievements in the game, and 205 of the 300 feats of strength for added measure, he is the first player to have all achievements after the release of Mists of Pandaria. Quite some achievement indeed. The level of dedication shown to have achieved what he has done is incredible, and something the devoted WoW community are known for all too well, and props to him.

XRALL2

Source Kotaku

WildStar: The future king of paid MMO’s?

Sai Mealing
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WildStar: The future king of paid MMO’s?

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From an outsider perspective, the world of MMO’s is a funny old one. As someone who typically never plays the same game for any longer than a few hours and has a tendancy to move from one online shooter to the next, I’ve never quite understood the desire to stick with the same game for years, let alone pay a monthly fee for the privilege.

Still there are some people who are sticking with the formula and despite a growing number of free-to-play alternatives and dwindling subscriber numbers for WoW and Eve Online, last month’s launch of The Elder Scrolls: Online was at least reasonably successful and has proven that the monthly fee concept isn’t dead just yet.

WildStar is another big budget contender looking to further tip WoW’s crown. In the making since 2005 and developed by several former-Blizzard employees, WildStar does away with the medieval archetypes that have now become commonplace and instead involves a war between rival hyper-advanced factions on the far-future planet of Nexus.

WildStar offers some truly gorgeous landscapes but it might take you a lot of grinding to see them.
WildStar offers some truly gorgeous landscapes but it might take you a lot of grinding to see them.

Character creation revolves around a total of six classes and eight races with the added bonus of a Mass Effect-style path system that encourages experimentation with different classes and unlocks further unique content. Players can also purchase a sky plot to use as a base and a source of income, a feature more reminiscent of Second Life than traditional MMO’s and one that could easily pave the way to a major digital economy if enough people get on board.

The visual style immediately exposes the game’s WoW roots and should feel familiar to anyone who has ever spent at least a few hours in the Eastern Kingdoms, despite WildStar being built from the ground up via proprietary engine. Likewise the user-interface seems to have the quiet simplicity of WoW whilst offering some of the more intuitive features offered by newer alternatives. Inventory and mission status windows can be moved and resized almost completely how the player see fit and using the scroll wheel over the area map allows for some really comfortable zooming.

However, in the short time I’ve spent with the closed beta over the last few days, it feels like grinding may be the order of the day. The earlier missions at least mostly seemed to revolve around routine fetch quests and paving the way to PvP level. I recently spent some time with The Elder Scrolls: Online prior to it’s release and found that where it best succeeded for me was in it’s ability to feel more like an Elder Scrolls game than an MMO. In contrast,

The in-game interface should feel familar to seasoned MMO players but may be a bit off-putting to newcomers.
The in-game interface should feel familar to seasoned MMO players but may be a bit off-putting to newcomers.

WildStar feels like a traditional and completely unapologetic hardcore MMO in every sense of the word. As someone who has limited experience with WoW, I did struggle to get to grips with the slightly dubious waypoint system and found the whole experience slightly unapproachable. Still, if the in-game chat log was anything to go by then the other players on the server all seem to be having a lot more fun than I did and their conversations suggested that they were having a much easier time with the navigation and control systems.

NCSoft are unlikely to turn the world upside down with this one however there is a lot of anticipation for WildStar and it’s likely that Blizzard and Activision will be watching their subscriber figures even more closely than normal when the game releases in June. WoW has long succeeded in being an entertainment and cultural phenomenon but at no point has it’s future as an industry superpower ever looked less certain.

First Trailer for True Blood’s Final Season

Becca Harper
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First Trailer for True Blood’s Final Season

HBO have aired a very short first trailer for season 7, the final season of True Blood. Things have gone bad and Sookie, along with the remaining residents of Bon Temps, are dealing with an infestation of “sick vampires”.

Though it started strong True Blood has suffered a drop in popularity since about season 4 and it would appear the show runners are dipping into that popular genre, zombie survival for the final 10 episodes. With the town cut off from the rest of the world, the residents struggle to survive with supplies running low and of course those pesky vamps, inevitably they will turn on each other. Check out the trailer below.

 

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