Monthly Archives: January 2015
Spacey to Play Man Trapped Inside Cat’s Body
House of Cards actor Kevin Spacey has signed on to star in Men in Black director Barry Sonnenfeld's upcoming comedy Nine Lives.
According to TheWrap, Spacey will play "a workaholic businessman who suffers a terrible accident that leaves him trapped in the body of the family cat."
The script comes from Daniel Antoniazzi and Ben Shiffrin, with EuropaCopa producing and financing the film.
Sonnenfeld describes Nine Lives as a "funny, emotional, commercial comedy."
Spacey recently brought home the Golden Globe for Best Actor - Drama for his role in Netflix's House of Cards. You can catch him in the political drama's third season February 27.
Avengers 2: Bettany Never Watched Marvel’s Movies
Paul Bettany has kept pretty mum on his role as the android The Vision in Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron, but now the Mortdecai actor has spilled a few new details about his role in the superhero flick.
According to news.com.au, it seems that Bettany's role in The Avengers won't be a one-time deal, saying, “That’s the really great thing about the Marvel gig for me. I have never known if I have had a job six months out ever in my life."
The Visual History of Zombies in Video Games
The zombie apocalypse is upon us. It has been for some time, actually – over 30 years now, if video games are anything to go by. (And they always are.) We've done a little digging, unearthing three decades' worth of the digital undead to see just how their depictions have changed over time.
The results are unsurprising on a technical level – as video game hardware has become more capable through the generations, these shuffling corpses, Crimson Heads and walkers have become more and more lifelike in their unliving appearance. Whereas it took a true leap of the imagination to extrapolate the idea of an attacking zombie from the sparse, blocky pixels of early '80s efforts, modern titles are so detailed in presenting these beasts' disfigurements that they're almost too gruesome to gaze upon at all.
How Many Wii U Consoles Has Nintendo Sold?
Yesterday Nintendo's third-quarter earnings were announced, and the company revealed that lifetime sales of its Wii U console are now 9.2 million units.
The traditionally strong holiday sales season included the release of high profile games such as Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. The quarter saw Wii U sales just shy of 2 million units, with the official number standing at 1.91 million. That number represents almost two-thirds of sales for the 9 months of Nintendo's fiscal year so far.
These numbers point to Nintendo being on track to meet its internal estimate of 3.6 million units sold during the fiscal year. The total now stands at 3.03 million, with 3 months left in the company's fiscal year.
Square Enix Teases Project Code Z for PS4
Square Enix today launched a teaser site for an upcoming PlayStation 4 game, tentatively titled Project Code Z.
The focus of the teaser site is on the changing environments seen behind the large "Z" on the center of the page. The Square Enix and PlayStation 4 logos can also be seen, along with a link to the game's official Twitter account.
The account's sole English Tweet reads, "It was cold outside and so was my mind..."
EA Access Members Can Download Free Battlefield 4 DLC
As a thank you to active members of Electronic Arts' online streaming service EA Access, Battlefield 4 DLC will be given away at no extra cost.
From January 29 - February 28, current members can download the second expansion pack for Battlefield 4. This pack features four fan-favorite maps from Battlefield 3, remade for Battlefield 4. EA has assured that those who download the pack will be able to keep it forever.
Big Possibilities For Gigantic
Gigantic is a pastiche of many different genres, informed by a wide array of gaming sensibilities that if listed out on a piece of paper, wouldn’t seem to make sense. And yet when I played it, as if by some bizarre form of digital alchemy, it did, and now all I can think about is playing it more, if only to peel away more of its layers and get lost in its possibilities. It’s the kind of multiplayer that crawls up into my brain and refuses to leave.
At its core, Gigantic is a five-on-five class-based arena shooter. You pick a character with a unique skill-set, and work together with your teammates to destroy the opposing team’s guardian while protecting your own, kind of like capture the flag, only the flag is a three-story-high dragon that stomps around the map breathing fire. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s a MOBA, or an RPG or any other genre either. They aren’t completely wrong mind you, but the arena shooter skill-set is what matters here, not how sick of a jungler or min-maxer you are.
App Store Update: January 28
Every day hundreds of new apps make their debut on the App Store, and hundreds more are updated or reduced in price. We have sifted through the noise and highlighted those select few that might be worth your attention.
Note: The prices and deals compiled below are accurate at the time we published this story, but all are subject to change.
Lamp and Vamp – ($1.99)
A pixelish vampire is on a quest across a series of hex grids, trying to safely return to his coffin before any flashlight-wielding foes target him:
Microsoft Ceases Production of Surface 2 Tablets
Microsoft is no longer manufacturing Surface 2 tablets, the company revealed earlier this week.
Speaking with Business Insider, Microsoft confirmed that the tablet is no longer being produced, as the Surface Pro 3 continues to drive Surface growth.
For the quarter closing out 2014, Microsoft reported Surface revenues of $1.1 billion USD -- a 24% increase compared to the same quarter last year.
Those seeking to purchase a Surface 2 should check Microsoft Retail Stores, MicrosoftStore.com, third-party retailers, and resellers for availability, Microsoft told The Verge.
Check Out These Cutesy Batman Toys
Kotobukiya newest series of Batman collectibles is also their most unusual. The company will be releasing a series of figurines based on the digital comic Batman: Li'l Gotham. But rather than just adapting the comic's distinctive chibi art style, these figures will also pay homage to the classic M.U.S.C.L.E. figures that were so popular in the 1980's.
At a mere two-inches tall, these figures imitate the size and monochrome style of the M.U.S.C.L.E. toys. The series consists of seven figures (Joker, Catwoman, Nightwing, Robin, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and two variations of Batman), each of which come in six different color variations. The figures will be sold as randomly assorted two-packs.