Monthly Archives: December 2015

Agents of SHIELD: Brett Dalton Teases Ward’s New Purpose

Full spoilers for the first half of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD: Season 3 continue below.

It's official: Grant Ward is dead. During Agents of SHIELD's midseason finale, "Maveth," the former SHIELD agent finally met Phil Coulson's wrath on a planet far from Earth. Coulson crushed Ward's chest with his robotic hand, killing him -- but, as the episode revealed, that's not the last viewers will be seeing of star Brett Dalton.

Brett Dalton on Marvel's Agents of SHIELD Brett Dalton on Marvel's Agents of SHIELD

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Sandwich-Sized Chocolate Slices Now Available in Japan

You can now buy slices of chocolate from Japanese candy company Bourbon. Reminiscent of Kraft Singles, each slice of chocolate is two millimeters thick and comes individually wrapped.

Like a piece of cheese, the chocolate slices are pretty malleable. The folks at Bourbon suggest wrapping a slice in a crepe, draping it over pancakes, or simply melting it on a piece of toast. Feeling fancy? Roll the slices up in a sponge cake. The thin slices also make it easy to punch out shapes with a cookie cutter. Slices are made from "nama chocolate," which is described as being "full-bodied and rich."

You can buy 12 packs for 3,240 yen (or $27 USD) on their website. Each pack comes with five slices. Still hungry? IGN's Anime Club recently discussed the most delicious-looking food in Anime.

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Street Fighter’s Akuma Invades Tekken 7 Roster

Last night, Bandai Namco dropped a fighting game bombshell when it revealed one of the most popular Street Fighter characters has joined the Tekken 7 roster.

Akuma, or Gouki as he is known as in Japan, is coming in the latest update of the 3D fighter, Tekken 7: Fated Retribution.

Bandai Namco released a trailer that shows series’ antagonist Heihachi Mishima’s wife Kazumi, who is also playable and she throws tigers, pleading with a shadowy figure to promise to kill Heihachi if she dies. He in turn promises to “repay a debt” to her.

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Worldwide Opening of The Hateful Eight Moved Up a Week

The Hateful Eight will release globally one week early, opening on New Year's Day rather than January 8.

According to Deadline, the wide release of the 35mm and digital print versions have been pushed forward, but the special 70mm roadshow version of the film is still set to debut in theaters on Christmas Day.

There's no word on exactly how many screens the film will open on come January 1, as the decision to move its release forward was just recently made. That said, theater chains will be looking to squeeze in as many showings as possible, with the film set to broaden its reach the following week.

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MST3K Breaks Veronica Mars’ Record Crowdfunding Record

The Kickstarter campaign to bring back Mystery Science Theater 3000 has now become the most successful crowdfunded film/video project of all time.

MST3K's campaign ended with 48,270 backers and a total of $5,764,229 pledged, breaking the previous record holder, the Veronica Mars movie project, which ended its campaign with $5,702,153 in funding.

"You did it: you brought back Mystery Science Theater 3000! Thanks to you, MST3K will be able to shoot fourteen new episodes next year, including a new holiday special!" an update on the project's Kickstarter page reads.

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10 Best Pokemon Breakthrough Cards

Pokémon TCG: XY—BREAKthrough has been legal for a couple weeks now, and another set means another roundup of the best cards for competitive use. To help us out, Pokemon guru Simon Narode will be lending his expertise. He's placed high in numerous big tournaments, peaking with a 2nd place finish at the 2013 World Championship, not to mention finishing 7th place at this year's.

Funny enough, even though Breakthrough introduces the new Pokemon Break cards, none of them made this list. Narode thinks they’re a cool new mechanic because they encourage players to evolve into powerful Pokemon instead of just using EXs, but this first wave of Breaks didn’t offer anything immediately playable in the competitive scene. Just like Megas, we expect for the first few to be underpowered before getting ones that are a bit more powerful.

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Force Awakens Cast, Director on Shooting in IMAX

The cast and director of Star Wars: The Force Awakens have shared thoughts on the IMAX presentation in a new featurette.

The "Behind the Frame" video shows director J.J. Abrams, along with cast members Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Gwendoline Christie, Harrison Ford, and Adam Driver, each talking about their impressions working with IMAX.

"I wanted to shoot this one sequence in the format to have a movie, even one sequence of it, shot using those cameras," Abrams said. "You feel it, and it ends up being that much more fun to watch. For Fans of Star Wars they get to experience a sequence in a way they haven't before." He went on to say having a premium experience is "more valuable than ever."

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Stellaris: A Fresh Take on the 4X Strategy Genre?

Are there too many space strategy games? Between Galactic Civilizations, Distant Worlds, StarDrive, Endless Space, and many more, it seems like the genre is thoroughly colonized. But there’s also room for a disruption beam: most of these other games are on the same foundation that Master of Orion 2 built, a Civilization-in-space with tactical combat and ship customization. It’s too similar; Stellaris could be a breath of fresh air.

Also giving hope: Paradox Development Studio has been on a ridiculous hot streak lately. With Crusader Kings 2 and Europa Universalis 4, Paradox took their games’ typical strategic depth, and especially in Crusader Kings’ case, did things that hadn’t done before, like putting The Sims-like interpersonal relationships at the heart of a grand strategy game. It’s that level of creativity, of infusing a traditional form with novelty that Stellaris and the space 4x genre need (4x: eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate--the traditional form of a Civilization-like game). Happily, Stellaris looks like they have the right people on the job.

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