For a week, a mysterious clock was ticking down at http://www.deadzonethegame.com/ subtly suggesting the announcement of something important. Combined with this were mysterious tweets from the account known as “Exp/Ret Six-Alpha” apparently telling the story of some sort of last stand or invasion. At 1:30pm GMT on the 26th April 2013 the clock hit zero and Mantic Games formally announced their new kickstarter project: a 28mm sci-fi skirmish game based in their Warpath universe.
The game comprises of 4 factions: the Enforcers (humans), the Plague (think space zombies) , the ERbs (anarchists) and Marauders (space Orcs). It’s designed to be a streamlined and simple rule system to allow the players to focus on the tactics of the game. As well as the stunning miniatures, Mantic are throwing in a new plastic terrain system, so you can build buildings and corridors to fought over.
The kickstarter project runs until Sunday the 2nd June 2013 with a target of $50,000. If Mantic’s previous efforts on Kickstarter are to go by, the project is likely to smash that target, with many stretch goals to follow.
Mantic are no strangers to Kickstarter projects, having had their own Dreadball and Kings of War successfully funded on the site, as well as publishing Alessio Cavatore’s chess-like game, Loka. Looks like this project is certainly one to watch for any fans of Sci Fi wargaming.
You can find the project here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1744629938/deadzone-the-sci-fi-miniatures-board-game
Iron Man Three. Yes – you heard me. Three. Not Iron Man 3. Three. This is the official title for the latest outing of Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr) alter-ego… Ok maybe not alter-ego… just ego. Why this alteration was made, I have no idea. Clearly the person behind renaming The Avengers to “Marvel’s Avengers Assemble” in the UK has been up to their usual tricks.
Yes – Shane Black‘s effort to start off Marvel’s “Phase 2” hit cinemas in the UK in the early hours of this morning (5 past midnight to be precise… though I couldn’t be up that late as I had to work), and I waited until the afternoon to go and watch it. Also due to travel constraints I was forced to see the film in 3D. I HATE 3D… but I LOVE the Iron Man movies, so I’m happy to sacrifice my eyes and endure an impending aneurysm to make sure you readers get the review you deserve. To that end, I feel that I need to provide you all with a SPOILER WARNING – however anything that will truly ruin the experience for the readers I’ll take the utmost care to conceal.
Suits. Lots of suits.
Synopsis
Since the events of New York, and the Loki-lead Chitauri army’s defeat at the hands of the Avengers, Tony Stark has been a changed man. He doesn’t sleep – instead he tinkers in his workshop until daybreak… then tinkers some more. He’s clearly haunted by the events, as he now knows that the human race could quite easily be wiped from the face of the Earth by any number of alien adversaries.
Because of these events and his apparent paranoia over protecting Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), Tony’s prettymuch created an Iron Man suit to cover every eventuality – 42 of them in total, with his latest baby responding to his thoughts thanks to some rather nifty sub-dermal implants (again, 42 of them).
In the midst of all this suit-making, a new terrorist menace is plaguing the United States and the country’s forces abroad – this time in the shape of The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley). A formidable cyber-terrorist and manipulator of people, The Mandarin coerces his disciples to bomb certain targets on US soil, and when someone Tony cares about gets hurt in the process, he takes it very personally.
Killian is suitably slimy
Alongside the terrorist threat comes a more subdued antagonist in the form of Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) – the brilliant mind behind the Extremis program. Extremis being the use of nanotechnology to enhance people, and re-grow limbs among other things.
Killian’s company has also been involved in “rebranding” Colonel Rhodes’ (Don Cheadle) War Machine suit to become the “Iron Patriot” – a suit that comicbook fans will probably comment was most noticeably worn by Norman Osborn (yes… the Green Goblin), and was involved in setting up the replacement for SHIELD when it was disbanded and replaced by HAMMER. However, that’s another story – one which I’d recommend reading.
There’s my boys…
Iron Man Three is a beautifully-crafted movie… the visual effects are second-to-none, and the acting is definitely up to scratch (Pearce & Kingsley are great, and suitably hammy at the right moments). I’ve never been disappointed in how the tech appears in the movies either, and it almost seems believable – like with enough money, it could almost be possible. Almost (I can dream, can’t I?).
The first act of the movie builds quite slowly, setting the atmosphere and focusing on Stark’s anxiety whilst introducing the extremis-enhanced goons – James Badge Dale is particularly good here… he’s like a frickin’ Terminator. These guys are surprisingly powerful, and the effect the extremis has on them visually looks particularly cool.
This guy will never lose his keys in the dark
If I’m honest the middle act of the movie is slow to get off the ground, and much of the humour that infused Stark’s previous outings isn’t present – there are a few good lines, and Stark is still his witty self, but something’s off. I can’t quite place my finger on it, and I’m not sure if this is the difference between Shane Black’s and Jon Favreau‘s directing, but I was a little disappointed.
We don’t really get to see Tony pull his finger out and start to kick a little ass until about two-thirds of the way through (although I’m nitpicking here), and with the diminished capacity of the Mk 42 suit at the time, we see him step up and improvise about as well as anyone can – with some rather awesome use of Christmas decorations.
The 3D conversion isn’t bad, but aside from the final act and a scene in the snow the use of 3D is minimal – in my opinion, not worth the extra ticket cost. I may be a little bias in my loathing of 3D, but being objective there were no “oooh!” moments or parts of the movie that felt like they were made for 3D unlike films like Avatar or Alice in Wonderland.
Tony clearly doesn’t want to watch Spongebob
Speaking of the final act, there are a couple of twists in the lead-up – one of which is obvious, the other, not so much. These are executed pretty well, the latter being quite funny.[toggle_box title=”Spoiler! Click to read!” width=”Width of toggle box”]Ben Kingsley’s turn as a cockney actor called Trevor is great – I love seeing typically dramatic actors having fun with a role, which he clearly did.[/toggle_box]
The last 20 minutes of the movie is where the majority of the effects budget has been spent, and it’s been put to good use. It’s some proper edge-of-the-seat stuff, though it comes a little late in the film for my taste. There seemed to be too much time spent on the downtrodden Stark before we see the payoff. [toggle_box title=”Spoiler! Click to read!” width=”Width of toggle box”]However Pepper steals the movie right at the end, much like Hulk did in The Avengers. She epically despatches Killian and a rouge Iron Man suit and does it in style![/toggle_box]
Conclusion
My final thoughts on Iron Man Three are a bit of a mixed bag. I really enjoyed the movie, and it’s a great continuation of the series as well as a solid start to Marvel’s Phase 2. However I can’t help but feel a little sad too. [toggle_box title=”Spoiler! Click to read!” width=”Width of toggle box”]The movie feels very much like a farewell to the role for Robert Downey Jr, down to Stark having the Arc reactor removed, packing up his stuff from his Malibu home and “hanging-up his spurs” so to speak. Even the end credits feel like the end of a trilogy, with a montage created from all 3 movies. RDJ was rumoured to not be returning, and unfortunately it looks more and more likely that this is the case.[/toggle_box]
Overall, you need to see Iron Man Three. It’s a great film, well made, well acted and will pluck the heartstrings in all the right places. Oh – and the obligatory extra scene at the end is present (as it is in most Marvel movies) – you do however have to sit right the way through to the end of the credits to see it though.
Ever wondered who would win a fight between Superman and Batman? Or Wonder Woman and Green Lantern? Well, now you can find out with this great new fighting game from the makers of Mortal Kombat 9. With 24 DC and 4 DLC characters available (later in the year) all the favourites are there…. and more.
Like MK 9, Injustice features a story mode with cinematic sequences tying in fights and featuring all of the characters; there is no choice in who you control in this particular mode. Personally I don’t think a story is really necessary in a fighting game, but it does give you a rest after most fights, treating you to some wonderful animation before the next battle starts.
The story revolves around the heroes being transported to alternate universe by the Batman of that world in order to get them to help him defeat Superman, who was tricked by the Joker into killing Lois Lane and their unborn child and is now hell-bent on destruction. An interesting story but not amazing as its real job is to introduce all of the characters and justify why they are fighting each other / teaming up with the villains, when they wouldn’t normally. Still better than stories featured in the Street Fighter and Tekken games, so no reason to complain for me.
The character designs are as I would expect them to be and as this is also published by Warner Bros, some of the story ties in with the Arkham Asylum/City games and the Batman character designs are the same. If any DC comic featured here is top-heavy in terms of characters, it’s Batman, but why not? Don’t worry if you have the same favourite as your friend; you can always play as the same one and use a different costume design if you want.
As this was developed by NetherRealm Studios, the fighting controls and styles are quite similar to MK. Personally, I find the control method a bit tricky to pull off, especially when using analogue sticks, as it’s harder to get quick left and right or up and down to trigger accurately, than it is to with a half/quarter crescent movement used in Capcom‘s games ( though some moves in Injustice are triggered this way.)
Moves are generally a lot simpler to trigger than MK though, as you don’t need to press half as many buttons (even the most impressive actions) but it may take quite a bit of practice to master some of the combos. Each character has one super move, which incorporates a jaw-dropping, over-the-top animation; these can be triggered by just pressing 2 buttons simultaneously, which sounds a bit too easy but you need to build up a meter by blocking attacks or taking hits first. It’s just a shame that this action is limited to one per character, as it can be a get a bit dull using the same one every fight; a bit of variety would have been nice.
For me the best thing, and one which makes this game stand out from the others, is how interactive the fighting arenas/stages are; throughout each one there are a number of objects, which can be used either to rebound off, to get behind your opponent without getting hit, or simply to throw at them; also the background crumbles as you fight. My favourite part of all, is the fact you can kick your opponent out of the arena, triggering an amazing animated transition to another level of the stage causing damage to them on the way. All of this really gives you the feel of fighting with superhuman might.
This trailer gives you some examples of some of the moves, stage destruction and transitions in the game:
http://youtu.be/CJl2qELdpE0
Online mode is very much like MK9 as you either search for players to fight individually or enter game lobbies and find them that way; some lobbies will have a number of players lined up to challenge each other in a King-of-the-Hill mode. This means you may have to wait for a while before it’s your turn but you can spectate the other matches while you’re waiting and see what you’re up against. Suffice to say I was beaten pretty badly most of the time as there are some pretty skilled players out there and I’m more suited to Street Fighter style controls . Was great fun though and I did a little dance of joy when I actually beat somebody.
Solomon Grundy looking a little pissed-off
There’s so much to unlock by completing stages, pulling off a number of moves and other achievements: extra modes, costumes, artwork and profile backgrounds and icons; but sadly no extra characters (until the DLC of course). This all gives you motivation to play over and over again and coupled with the fact that there are quite a few variations of battles; all heroes, all villains, survival, timed, just to name a few gives the games a lot of longevity.
Saying all that, I feel Injustice is lacking in a few areas. As well as each character being limited to one super move, they only have one intro and outtro, which again gets a bit repetitive. Also, although there is an abundance of game modes…. there’s no tag-team mode?! I think the developers have missed a trick there as it would have really added so much to the game and this alone would have motivated me to score it at least another point.
The Flash packs a punch
Conclusion
Overall while Injustice is lacking in a few areas, it’s still a very entertaining, addictive game, which should satisfy DC and Mortal Kombat fans alike. But although simplified, SF fans may find it a little tricky. All of the negatives I’ve mentioned are pretty minor and do not outweigh the positives; everything is done well and looks and sounds great. It’s the best fighting game released in a long time and my favourite, along with Marvel Vs Capcom 3. So go and get this for your chance to feel like your favourite superhero and determine who’s the best of the best.
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As I promised, another great giveaway for you lucky geeks!
My big Sis, Anarlitty, has kindly offered to giveaway 4 SIGNED prints of some of her latest work! All you need to do is click on out Giveaway Ap and jobs a gooden! Geek Pride Giveaway Ap
earn up to 12 points worth of entries!
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[toggle_simple title=”Disclaimer” width=”Width of toggle box”]This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. We hereby release Facebook of any liability. Winner(s) will be contacted by email after the giveaway ends. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send us an email![/toggle_simple]
Everyone’s favourite UK supermarket has unofficially announced the latest game in the Call of Duty franchise. The title Call of Duty: GHOSTS had been mentioned by a few other sources last month but retail website Tesco Direct released cover art on it’s website today with product listings for Xbox 360 and PS3 versions and a release date of 30th December 2013, although this date is most likely a placeholder. The listing has since been removed.
Call of Duty: GHOSTS is reportedly being developed by Infinity Ward, the studio behind the immensely popular Modern Warfare series however little is known of this latest game’s characters or plot as of yet. It has also been reported that GHOSTS will be developed and released almost simultaneously for current gen and next gen console platforms as well as PC however, at least for now, Tesco haven’t got themselves into any further strife by including some tasty Durango cover art on their website. If this leak hasn’t been backhandedly sanctioned by Activision then it’s likely that their legal team will have enough to deal with for the time being.
Are you looking forward to Call of Duty GHOSTS or do you think the military FPS series has had it’s day? Let us know via Facebook or Twitter or in the comments section below.
Many PC users have added their own Windows 8 start menu already using 3rd party apps such as Start8 and StartIsBack.
Without a doubt, the single most controversial aspect of Microsoft’s Windows 8 Operating System has been the decision to replace the Start menu with the more tablet-friendly Metro user interface. Many PC users chose to boycott Windows 8 altogether whereas the more tech savvy have utilized 3rd party applications such as StartIsBack which add a Windows 7-looking start menu back into the desktop view. Of course, many others have just quietly dealt with it and have taken to the Metro menu system, now immediately familiar to anybody who has used a Windows mobile 8 device or even an Xbox 360 in the past.
Multiple sources, however, are now reporting that Microsoft has listened to all of the menu-related complaints and are planning to introduce the classic Start menu to Windows 8 as part of the v8.1 Service Pack to be released later this year. The current beta version of 8.1 does not include the desktop Start menu but it will apparently be included in the finished build and users will be able to boot straight into the Desktop mode if they wish, thus keeping their use of Metro to a minimum.
The Valve Piston ‘Steambox’ will offer high-end PC gaming in a smaller shell and for a lower price.
I have personally been using Windows 8 with a Start menu addon enabled for a number of months now with and have found it to be relatively secure and stable however gamers and PC users at large have expressed their severe distaste towards the OS with Valve CEO and industry legend Gabe Newell referring to it as a “catastrophe for everyone in the PC space”. With talk of a standalone Steambox console on the horizon and Valve’s growing support for Linux, not to mention a rapidly growing market-share for Apple users, Microsoft seem to be taking a wise decision in listening to their user-base and trying to ensure that Windows 8 does not turn out to be another Windows Vista for them or worse. However will this already all just be a case of much too little too late?
Have you switched to Windows 8 already? Let us know what you love or hate about it on Facebook and Twitter or in the comments section below.
I’m loving, and yet also dreading some of the sequel announcements that are coming of late. A while ago we found that cult classic Anchorman was getting a sequel, and now another much-loved movie has finally confirmed the rumours of a sequel… and yes, Peter La Fleur & White Goodman are making a comeback.
Yes, that’s right folks – ESPN 8 “The Ocho” may well have more Dodgeball fever on their hands – the sequel to Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story has finally been officially confirmed, with Vince Vaugn and Ben Stiller filling their sweaty sneakers and playing with their (dodge) balls once more.
There’s also no news yet on wether Alan Tudyk, Justin Long or Christine Taylor will be rejoining the cast – I’m sure that once the script is penned (as long as it doesn’t suck), they’ll return. In fact I think Long’s character gave me the most laughs, along with Tudyk’s Steve the Pirate.
“F**kin’ Chuck Norris!”
Ben Stiller has commissioned Clay Tarver (Road Kill, Joy Ride) to write the script for the movie, with no official synopsis as yet… but the rumourmill has started up already, and the most plausible scenario is that Peter & White have to team up to combat an even bigger threat. Although what with White’s fitness level taking a nosedive at the end of the movie, it’ll be intersting to see how they approach it – I’m expecting a Rocky-style montage at some point.
Of course what with the writer just coming on board, there’s no ETA for the movie, or a trailer – however you can bet that with 2004’s Dodgeball raking in a nice $114m at the box office, I imagine we’ll have a wealth of information pretty soon.
Keep your eyeballs glued to Geek Pride in the future and we’ll bring you the details as soon as we get them.
Hannibal focuses on “the rise of Hannibal Lecter” to the legend that he is today in the consciousness of The Silence of the Lambs fans all over the world. From the books that spinned into two movies, the aforementioned Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon, to the more recent NBC hit show, people just can’t seem to get enough of this particular cannibal. Giving the charm he oozed in Anthony Hopkins’s interpretation, it’s easy to see where the attraction lies.
The show focuses on Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), a young profiler who has a certain “gift”, one that he seems to see more as a curse than anything else. In the show it’s referred to as pure empathy, giving him the ability to immerse himself completely inside someone else’s mind, sometimes at the risk of losing himself within the darkest recesses of a criminal’s mind. His imagination, greater than that of anyone else’s, allows him to “see” things unfold, the killer’s design as it was planned step by step until it led to murder. Due to his slightly autistic tendencies and dislike of social interaction, he chose a teaching position, leaving behind his life as a police officer, until agent Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne) asks for his help with a case, starting off a chain of events that puts him in the path of Hannibal Lecter. From then, the game is on.
Hannibal does a great job at portraying the struggle someone that has to enter a murderer’s mind faces, particularly someone seemingly unable to rely on a support system when he’s in need, as well as the intricacies of the mind games a psychopath could resort to in order to achieve his or her endgame. Hannibal (played by Mads Mikkelsen) struck me as a little bland at first, his behaviour slightly odd, something that “in character” could be put down to us, the viewers, being given some breadcrumbs to realize he’s actually a bad guy, but that opinion of mine changed as I watched more episodes, his portrayal becoming more and more nuanced with each scene he played. As soon as I abandoned my tendency to compare him to Anthony Hopkins things got even better.
The two leads play of nicely off each other, Hugh Dancy bringing Will Graham to life with all of his quirks, particularly those mentioned in the book, rather than focusing on Edward Norton’s portrayal in Red Dragon. The autistic tendencies he mentions at the start of episode one are also accurately portrayed, perhaps a nod to his role in Adam where he played a young man with Asperger’s syndrome. Mads Mikkelsen, as I’ve already mentioned, manages to amp up the creepy factor, his actions sometimes seemingly unexpected and random, only for them to be revealed as carefully planed beforehand.
My one complaint about the casting is the lack of scenes with Laurence Fishburne. He seems to serve as nothing more than an extra, popping up on screen from time to time only to fall back into the shadows. I know the story isn’t focused on him as much as on the two opposing minds at work, but when you have a great actor, misusing him like that seems absurd.
On a more positive side, the show benefits from fantastic visual effects, making it an odd mix of gore and fantasy. Will’s incursions inside the minds of the killers he follows provide the perfect opportunity for the special effects team to do their best, amping up the fear factor and feeding the imagination with pictures that will be hard to erase. This is not for those with a weak stomach or faint of heart. It’s scary and gory, but beyond the blood and the guts, what’s truly frightening is the realisation that what we see is actually a map of the human mind. A mind we like to call disturbed and different than our own, but the terrifying thing is that we realise it presents the potential to do harm that we all possess, pushed into our faces without sugar coating it.
Each episode is named after French cuisine dishes, adding to the already horrific atmosphere of the show. So far only three episodes have aired – Aperitif, Amuse-Bouche, Potage – but despite that, the critics and fans alike seemingly have fallen in love with it. All in all, Hannibal is so far an entertaining show, leaving enough room for character development if allowed by NBC to survive long enough to bring it onto the screen. The cast is fantastic and the storyline, bar a few plot holes that you won’t be able to miss, will give you a lot to think about. Top grades from me and a recommendation for all of you to start watching.
We all know that in general a videogame to movie adaptation tends to go down in a sucky ball of fire, save for a couple of exceptions (I liked Silent Hill… not the sequel though). But – what if we have a Pixar-style game, made into an animated movie? That seems to be the route Sony are taking with their popular IP Ratchet & Clank.
Being developed by Blockade Entertainment and Rainmaker Entertainment in conjunction with Sony and Insomniac Games, the feature film of Ratchet & Clank has just been announced, and is due to hit our theatres in 2015.
There’s going to be a big push for the 3D side of things, and the in-game rendering team are helping out in the movie’s pre-visualisation to keep things as authentic as humanly (and digitally) possible.
All the acting mainstays of the series are returning, so you’ll be hearing James Arnold Taylor, David Kaye, and Jim Ward reprising their roles as Ratchet, Clank & Qwark respectively.
In case you’ve never played the games (you really should), the Ratchet & Clank series are Sony exclusive action/adventure/platform games where the usual quest is to save the universe. Ratchet is a humanoid lifeform known as a Lombax that’s a mechanic, and Ratchet is his robot sidekick. In some of the more recent games there’s been a focus on co-op gameplay, and I’m currently playing through “All 4 One” at the moment with my stepson – it’s very fun.
Anyway check out the trailer below – from what we can glean information-wise, it’s going to be funny, looks to be well-animated, and like Wreck-it Ralph before it, may have Skrillex featuring on the soundtrack. Check out the trailer for yourself below.
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