Monthly Archives: May 2015
Greg Grunberg Returning for Heroes Reborn
Joining fellow former Heroes stars Jack Coleman, Masi Oka, and Jimmy Jean-Louis on NBC's Heroes Reborn is Greg Grunberg, who will once again be playing the mind-bending Matt Parkman.
Heroes Reborn Trailer Description
Per EW.com, Grunberg is on board for a "guest star arc" on the upcoming 13-episode event series. As you'll recall, Grunberg's Parkman was an LAPD officer who discovered he had telepathic abilities, and what started out as mind reading eventually evolved into mind control.
The Crow Reboot Considers Switching Gender of Villain
Andrea Riseborough is currently in negotiations to play Top Dollar in the upcoming reboot of The Crow.
Deadline reports Relativity Studios is considering Riseborough for the role of the main villain, last portrayed by Michael Wincott in the 1994 original. Riseborough was last seen in last year's Birdman, which won the Oscar for best picture, in which she played the girlfriend of Michael Keaton's titular character. Riseborough was also in Oblivion with Tom Cruise.
Ashley Johnson Joins the Cast of Tales from the Borderlands
Voice actor Ashley Johnson is joining the cast of Gearbox Software and Telltale Games' adventure series, Tales from the Borderlands.
Telltale Games' Laura Perusco made the announcement on Twitter, which was shortly thereafter followed up by a reply by the studio's PR director, Job J Stauffer, who confirmed that Johnson "plays a very core character" in the upcoming third episode.
.@lauraperusco @TheVulcanSalute Agreed! Without giving anything away, just know that she plays a *very* core character. Ep 3 is bananas!
YouTube Gets 60 FPS Live Stream Functionality
An update to YouTube arrives today, adding support for users who wish to live stream content in 60 frames-per-second.
Last year, the company introduced support for 60 FPS video playback, and this new addition only furthers YouTube's mission to compete with Twitch as it seeks to become the definitive place for gamers to share their content.
"When you start a live stream on YouTube at 60fps, we'll transcode your stream into 720p60 and 1080p60, which means silky smooth playback for gaming and other fast-action videos," a statement from YouTube explained.
"We'll also make your stream available in 30fps on devices where high frame rate viewing is not yet available, while we work to expand support in the coming weeks."
VR Zombie Game Announced for SteamVR
Vertigo Games has announced Arizona Sunshine, a shooter built from the ground up for VR.
In Arizona Sunshine, players will fight for survival both against the zombie horde and the blistering heat of a post-apocalyptic Arizona.
Arizona Sunshine uses the SteamVR-powered HTC Vive, making use of its motion controllers to enhance the realism of fighting the zombie horde. You'll have to manage weapons and consumables while fighting zombies that feel "close enough to touch."
It's built in bite-sized chunks, so you can stay in the zombie-smashing ride from start to finish or jump in for just a few minutes (a good option if VR makes you dizzy easily).
Arizona Sunshine is on Steam, where its release date has been given only as sometime this year.
New to Netflix for June 2015
Netflix favorite Orange is the New Black returns for its third season in June, but that's not the only original series on the docket. The Wachowskis are delivering 12 episodes of their trippy new show, Sense8, to our doorstep in what marks Netflix's first dabblings with sci-fi.
Amazon Prime in June: The Shining, The Mist, More
Also, in a surprise move, Season 2 of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD is being made available well before Season 3 kicks off. Normally, with TV shows, you only get a few weeks to binge before a new season starts up. Or in some cases, the previous season won't even be ready to stream when the new one rolls around. So take advantage of this "early bird" SHIELD special.
Game Scoop: The Big Xbox E3 2015 Preview
E3 2015 is less than one month away, and there's a lot to get excited about from Microsoft's press conference -- so we gathered on Game Scoop! to discuss the reveals and demos we'll see. The publisher previously stated that this year will be very first-party focused, and with the imminent release of numerous promising exclusives, 2015 is looking like a great year for Xbox One. We're confident in what we'll see, but in this week's Game Scoop! we also explore what we may see, and we dig into what we'd love to learn more about as well. Take a look at Microsoft's history at E3 for a refresher on year's past, and be sure to check out the games we know will be at E3 with certainty with IGN's Games at E3 list.
App Store Update: May 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.
Til Morning's Light – ($6.99)
"Erica Page is an ordinary teenage girl, just trying to fit in. She’s also trapped in a mansion haunted by a 200-year-old curse. You know, the normal stuff. Help her explore the huge, creepy, and not exactly empty mansion, revealing its darkest secrets and hopefully a way out. There are clues to decipher, tools to collect, and puzzles to solve. If all else fails, Erica can beat the goo out of supernatural nasties with an arsenal of clubs, knives, and swords. Oh, did we forget to tell you? Erica has to escape by dawn, or she’ll become the next ghost in the mansion!"
First Look at Samurai Jack’s Finale
The Samurai Jack comic book from IDW Publishing is coming to a conclusion on June 3, and that's when we will finally see the story return to one of the show's most epic moments. You know the one -- after Jack is defeated by the blue portal guardian, we get a glimpse of an older, battle-torn King Jack.
It was a short yet powerful scene that teased what many assumed would be the final fate of Jack, but alas we never got a follow-up before the show ended... until now. This comic is as close as we have ever come to getting some closure for the beloved series. Plus, Samurai Jack creator Genndy Tartakovsky has signed off on this story, so you know that it's legit.
We have your exclusive first look inside Samurai Jack #20 by writer Jim Zub and artist Andy Suriano (a character designer for the Samurai Jack TV show). Take a look, then head to the comments to let us know how pumped that cover gets you.
Don’t Starve: Giant Edition Gets Wii U Release Date
Don't Starve: Giant Edition will be making its way to Wii U owners in North America next week on May 28, developer Klei Entertainment has just announced. Meanwhile, the game will be available to those in Europe the following week, on June 4.
As a special bonus, if you purchase the game through the Nintendo eShop before June 28, you'll get an extra copy of the title, which you can gift to a friend.
Klei has added a few features unique to the Wii U version, with GamePad support that allows you to reference the controller's screen to view your inventory and map. The game also supports off-TV play.