Monthly Archives: February 2015
Meagan Good, Stark Sands to Star in Minority Report TV Series
Meagan Good (Anchorman 2, Californication, Saw V) will star opposite Stark Sands (Inside Llewyn Davis) in FOX's upcoming Minority Report pilot.
Good will play Lara Vega, a detective haunted by her past who's "not afraid to break a few rules," according to Deadline.
Meanwhile, Sands will play Dash, one of the three Precogs with the ability to see murders before they happen. Dash is still haunted by visions of the future, causing him to struggle with "normal" human life. Sands will also portray Dash's twin brother, Arthur, who possesses the same ability.
Meagan Good in Deception.
App Store Update: February 27
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.
MATE.. – ($0.99)
A "hypnotic avoidance" game of dashing along an endless tube and ducking through the openings in circular gates along the way.
Buy OlliOlli on 3DS, Get a Second Copy for Wii U
Upon its release for the Nintendo eShop next month, OlliOlli on the Nintendo 3DS or Wii U will be available as a cross-buy game.
Much like PlayStation's Cross-Buy system, this means that anyone who purchases a copy of OlliOlli on 3DS will also receive a second free copy for the Wii U, and vice versa. The second copy will be unlocked via the consumer's Nintendo ID.
According to Curve Digital, this is the first time a third-party Nintendo game has been available as a cross-buy item. Previously, Nintendo's first cross-buy game to be announced was Mario vs. Donkey Kong.
Republique Review
It begins with a plea for help, a closeup of a teenage girl's panicked face, clandestinely whispering about being "erased." Her name is Hope. You don't know why she's called you. You can't quite tell where she is. But you know she's frightened, and everything is horribly wrong.
We know this not because some omniscient narrator fills us in on the world in Republique's opening in-engine scene but in the same way you get all your information in Republique, a way that few games offer: you observe. You explore. The truth about Hope's new surroundings is out there, on the walls, in the newspapers, in the voicemails scattered around the game. Either the future or we're at least in a place with the future's technology. A foreboding "headmaster" sees all, assuring an unseen populace that all is still right with the world. Except clearly it isn't since you're surrounded by guards, people are smacking our girl around, blathering on about manifestos, the dangers of information, and the poisonous influence of a dead rebel named Daniel Zager, who sets the tone at the game's outset during the developer logos even more succinctly and ominously with a single quote: "I used to be angry at my government because I thought they weren't listening. Now I'm angry because I know they are." We are in a world of lavish accommodations, a place that resembles Xavier's School for the Gifted more than any sort of prison, and yet all the other telltale signs of a stone-cold prison are inescapable and in full view.
And so begins Republique, with a sense of supreme disquiet and a constant, ongoing bewilderment. It's that bewilderment that drives the game onward and keeps you guessing episode after episode through a mystery that's all too reluctant to hand out easy answers.
The dystopian nightmare is a compelling veneer for a rather simple stealth game when it comes down to brass tacks, though. Once you break Hope out of her initial confinement cell, your task is simply to keep her out of the hands of the Prizrak, the private security stooges milling about, keeping Pre-Cals--that is, the children of Republique--in their place, locked up, and under control. You do this by hijacking the thousands of surveillance devices scattered around the place, Watch Dogs style, and guide Hope from hiding place to hiding place, just beyond the sight of the Prizrak, hacking every piece of electronic equipment you can find, occasionally managing to improve your door access in the process. Republique's lineage shows here. Developer Camouflaj has a few Metal Gear Solid veterans working under its roof, and that game's stealth pedigree shows in the patrol patterns, Hope's hiding spots, and the more advanced reactions when the Prizrak spot Hope and give chase. The difference is that Hope doesn't have Snake's arsenal--or anything much at all, really. Hope can pick up pepper spray, tasers, and a landmine that puts the Prizrak to sleep. She can even pickpocket them from the Prisrak if she's clever. But for every item Hope picks up to just barely fend off being caught, the Prizrak get taser-proof armor and nerve gas. It's in character for the game at least since Hope is definitely shown to be a naïve character who wouldn't know anything about the subtle arts of murder and persuasion. But it means often feeling like Hope is hideously outnumbered and outgunned.
I used to be angry at my government because I thought they weren't listening. Now I'm angry because I know they are.
Or at least it would if getting caught meant death or punishment or higher security. Instead, losing means being marched, hands up, to the nearest confinement cell (these are, essentially, the game's save rooms), waiting for the guard to leave so you can bust Hope out. For a place that seemingly wants Hope dead and has no problem putting the boots to anyone who disobeys, they seem to handle Hope the way you would a bratty four-year-old, and it works every time. It doesn't make the stealthing around any less fun, and arguably, the infinite retries are often a blessing, considering the amount of Metroid-ish backtracking that you already have to do, but it does mess with the game's immersion.
Indeed, breaking the hypnotic, curious spell that the game can cast when it’s doling out more of the mystery is its biggest problem. When jumping from camera to camera, you have the ability to read detailed files on each of the guards, which would be a nifty touch, one that pays off in spades in the third episode, if not for the fact that most of the guards' files have a giant "Kickstarter backer" stamp under their country's flag and often reference their gamer identities. Early on, you start getting additional assistance from another Prizrak guard who calls and offers advice and information in emojis and a Stephen Hawking voice. He's a strong character, whose role in the facility is pieced together bit by bit and who just so happens to have floppy disks referencing fellow indie developers scattered all around the place as collectables. The game certainly has supporters in high places who deserve tips of the hat, but placing those smirking nods so shortly after Hope sees her first dead body or after watching Republique's media branch destroy a man's reputation feels wholly out of place.
It's only a stumbling block considering how great a job the game does of world-building for such extended periods. For most of Republique, our eyes and ears are just as innocent as Hope's, and every new room is ripe with opportunities to learn something new, to find a new piece of the puzzle of what we know about the Headmaster's plans and ambitions, the rampant, terrifying censorship and moralizing, the journalism-turned-propaganda-machine, the failed, or the hostile attempts by the Republique brass to engage the leaders of the free world. The stellar voice cast keeps us engaged from minute one, with every hackable device giving us brief, audio-only glimpses of the outside world and Republique's black-hat inner workings.
At the center of it all, literally and metaphorically, there's just Hope, a frightened girl who just wants to see the world outside Republique, and we can already tell that she is in for some hard times if she ever does. Episode 3 drops a few major bombs as to who and what Hope might be, and it's worrisome stuff that threatens to absolutely ruin a girl we're already forced to tread lightly with. One of the only moral choices in the game involves that very idea of how much of the world's worst lies on her shoulders. Where Republique's gameplay is satisfyingly simple, the plot driving it on is anything but.
The dystopian nightmare is a compelling veneer for a rather simple stealth game.
Needless to say, despite its mobile game roots, the world of Republique is meant to immerse, to beckon the your curiosity, and to involve you enough in the city-state's ins and outs to get Hope, our frightened girl, out of danger. The good news is that, in transitioning to PC, the game remains largely successful. All that remains is for the game's two remaining episodes to stick what is undoubtedly going to be a rough landing for everyone involved.
Black Sails: Eleanor Reacts to Flint vs. Vane
When we last left off on Black Sails, Charles Vane (Zach McGowan) had viciously attacked his enemy, James Flint (Toby Stephens). So what will happen next?
IGN has an exclusive preview clip for you from Saturday night's new episode, picking up moments later, as Eleanor (Hannah New) arrives on the scene - and decides to take action. Check out the clip above!
For plenty more about Black Sails from my recent visit to the set of the series -- including what Toby Stephens had to say about last week's big reveal about Flint -- watch the videos below.
Black Sails airs Saturdays at 9pm ET/PT on Starz.
April Is “What The Duck” Month at Marvel
Howard the Duck is making his triumphant return to comics next month as Marvel launches a new ongoing series from writer Chip Zdarsky and artist Joe Quinones. The celebration will continue in April as Marvel commemorates "What the Duck" month. Various Marvel comics will feature Howard-themed variant covers during April as the quirky hero inserts himself into different iconic images.
We have the exclusive reveal of five of those covers. Check those out below, along with four other previously revealed covers:
Look for all of these covers to be released throughout April. Meanwhile, Howard the Duck #1 is scheduled to launch on Wednesday, March 11.
Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
Underworld Ascendant Achieves Kickstarter Goal
Otherside Entertainment reached the $600,000 funding goal for its reboot, Underworld Ascendant, and has made a few adjustments to its stretch goals.
The milestones, the next few of which can be seen below, extend all the way to $1.2 million in funding, which will unlock co-op play and more extensive avatar customization. As of this writing, Otherside has raised $608,000 on its Kickstarter page.
• $650k – The Underswamp (new in-game area)
• $700k - Tracy Hickman, fantasy author of the Dragonlance novels, will pen a prequel novel to Ascendant
• $750k - Lizardmen, another intelligent race
List of Anniversary PS4 Winners Accidentally Deleted
A mistake on Sony's end has erased the list of winners in a recently-held contest in Japan.
Japanese customers who purchased a PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, or Vita TV between December 4 and January 15 had access to a calendar with a unique code attached that, once entered in, would enter the user to win a 20th Anniversary Edition PlayStation 4.
Sony has issued an apology and confirmed that all of the information has been lost without any chance for recovery. No explanation as to how the information was lost is known, but Sony reassures that customer information has not been compromised as a result.
Boardwalk Empire’s Huston Being Eyed for The Crow
Actor Jack Huston is reportedly in early talks to tackle the lead role in the Corin Hardy-directed reboot of The Crow.
Huston portrayed masked assassin Richard Harrow on HBO's Boardwalk Empire, which then led to the titular role in the upcoming Ben-Hur retelling. The Hobbit and Dracula Untold star Luke Evans was originally attached to play the Crow, but confirmed back in December that he had left the project. Actors such as Bradley Cooper and Norman Reedus were also rumored for the film at different points.
The Crow is a remake of Alex Proyas 1994 film adaptation of the James O'Barr graphic novel about a murdered man who comes back for revenge. Corin Hardy (The Hallow) recently signed on to helm the project after F. Javier Gutiérrez (Before the Fall) left to direct The Ring 3. Gutiérrez will stay on as an executive producer, along with two of the original film's producers, Edward R. Pressman and Jeff Most, according to Deadline.
This Age of Ultron Hulk Figure Is Smashing
Hulk is the latest figure to be revealed in Hot Toys' growing lineup of Age of Ultron figures. And even if you already own the previous Hulk figure, this "Hulk Deluxe" version has one nifty new feature that might make it worth double-dipping.
Like the previous Hulk figure, Hulk Deluxe is designed at 1:6 scale and measures about 16.5 inches tall. This one is based on Hulk's appearance in Age of Ultron and includes his brand new, Avengers-branded stretchy pants. The head sculpt even features rotating eyeballs for that extra touch of realism. The big addition with this figure, however, is an interchangeable head and torso piece that allows collectors to display Hulk in a "Hulk Smash!" pose free of any unsightly joints.