Monthly Archives: January 2015
A History of Marvel’s Secret Wars
The "Secret Wars" name carries a lot of history with it at Marvel. The original Secret Wars mini-series was one of the publisher's first epic crossover comics. The name has been reused for sequels, spinoffs, and other comics that don't have any direct connection to the original. And later this year, Marvel will be introducing a new take on Secret Wars for an eight-issue series that destroys the Marvel Universe and Ultimate Universe and leaves a new Battleworld in their wake.
However, not all current Marvel fans are familiar with the original Secret Wars or its various offshoots. What's the difference between Secret Wars and Secret War, anyway? We're here to sort things out. This guide offers a brief history of Secret Wars in all its incarnations and how the current Avengers comics are building to the new crossover.
Holographic Minecraft Shown by Microsoft
In a video showing off Microsoft's new HoloLens headset, we got a glimpse at what Minecraft could look like in the future -- and it's awesome.
In the video below, a person "plays" Minecraft by projecting the iconic, blocky world onto his living room floor and furniture. With just a flick of the finger, he places new bricks, explodes TNT, and carves out walls, leading to vast, expansive worlds.
The best moments are captured in the gallery below. If you want to see it in motion, jump to the 55 second mark in the video and watch.
Remember, this was all part of a prepared video, not a live demonstration. Still, if this does represent Microsoft's plans for Minecraft, no matter how distant, we're in for a treat.
One-Time PSN Discount Not Usable on Game Pre-Orders
The one-time 10% discount for all PSN members cannot be used on game pre-orders, says Sony.
Sony revealed the news today on the PlayStation Blog. After previously saying the discount could be used on pre-orders, Sony later corrected its stance and apologized for the confusion.
Subscriptions for PS Plus, Music Unlimited, PS Now, and rental video content are also excluded from the promotion. However, you can use the 10% discount on games, game add-ons, season passes, and several television shows and movies.
Sony offered the discount to all PSN users, alongside a free five-day PS Plus extension, as a reward for their patience with recent PSN issues. You'll receive your promo code through the PlayStation Store, which can be used for 10% off a total cart purchase from the PlayStation Store on PS3, PS4, or on PC.
Kickstarter Game Exploding Kittens Reaches Over $2MM
A card game featuring exploding cats, goats, magical enchiladas, and back hair has reached over two million dollars in funding on its Kickstarter campaign.
Called Exploding Kittens, it's a card game borrowing elements of Russian Roulette and UNO in its execution. During the course of play, players take turns drawing from a deck. When an exploding kitten card is drawn, the player who drew it is kicked from the game. Other cards, such as diffusers, attacks, and specials will aid the player in avoiding certain exploding death and can even give them an advantage over other players.
Plex App Arrives on PS3 and PS4 in North America
The Plex media streaming app is now available on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 in the US and Canada, as well as Latin America.
Plex is a service that organizes your own personal media library and allows streaming on several different devices, from your game console to mobile devices.
It also works on Chromecast, Amazon Fire, newer smart TVs, and more. Find the full list of compatible platforms on the Plex website.
For now, the Plex app can only stream videos, but music and photo sharing is expected "shortly," according to the PlayStation blog.
New Telltale Game of Thrones Trailer Releases Tomorrow
Tomorrow at 10am Pacific Time, you'll be able to see a trailer for the next chapter in Telltale Games' Game of Thrones series.
Telltale Games made the announcement today via their official Twitter account. Called 'The Lost Lords,' this marks the second of six episodes in Telltale's episodic adventure game series based on the HBO show Game of Thrones and author George R.R. Martin's fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire.
Following the television show's third season and stretching to the fifth, Telltale's series follows House Forrester as its family members and inhabitants attempt to keep the house together in the midst of a great war.
New Arrow Clip: DC Comics Villain Brick Arrives
Vinnie Jones (X-Men: The Last Stand, Galavant, Eurotrip), makes his debut on Arrow tonight as DC Comics/Green Arrow villain, Daniel "Danny" Brickwell, AKA Brick, and we've got an exclusive clip showing the menace he brings to Starling City.
Check out what happens as Brick confronts one of his men over a big mistake he made - and we see how he settles his differences.
We'll be seeing Jones as Brick for several episodes. As Arrow executive producer/showrunner Marc Guggenheim told me last month, "Brick, who’s played by Vinnie Jones, we’re actually doing something we’ve never done on the show before which is we’ve never had a multi-episode arc with a villain who wasn’t the big bad of the year. So we’re trying something new in Season 3 that I’m really excited about. Truth be told, something like that is only as good as its casting and Vinnie, he’s amazing. He really, really commands the screen and he is a very worthy adversary. I think it’ll be fun to spend three episodes sort of exploring a villain who’s not the big bad, who’s not going to destroy the city, but at the same time isn’t going to end up in police custody by the end of the first episode."
App Store Update: January 21
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.
The Witcher Battle Arena – (Freemium)
The Witcher adventure series goes full-on MOBA. See for yourself:
Poll: What Do You Think of Venom’s New Costume?
Today's "The Planet of the Symbiotes" finale in Guardians of the Galaxy #23 saw Venom get a new look that returns him to his bulkier roots. We'll avoid the spoiler of what led to this new appearance, but we wanted to show it off to hear what you think.
One of Spider-Man's most iconic foes, the original Venom host was Eddie Brock, created by Mike Zeck and Todd McFarlane.
Duchovny Excited About Potential X-Files Revival
It was recently revealed that Dana Walden and Gary Newman, CEOs of FOX Television Group, are in talks to bring back The X-Files, and David Duchovny says he's on-board with the idea.
Duchovny told USA Today that he is "more than happy and excited to bring it back and do it again with Gillian
and
Chris
." FOX officials are still in early talks with Carter to revive the program, whom they have said they would not move forward without.
"I'm assuming that it will happen sooner rather than later now. We'll see what form, how many